Tomasello Ch. 4

The development of language in children is one of the most interesting things that could be discussed in a book about human development.  As one of the main differences between us and our closest genetic relative is our ability to communicate it is natural to attempt to dissect this process so we know more about it.  The reason that Tomasello identifies as the principle cause of our ability to develop language is the human capacity to understand others as intentional beings.  By learning to understand others intentions we can learn about symbolic gestures and how they communicate also we can learn how people intend to communicate.  With this skill children can understand how a variety of people act in similar situations.  Even with all of these tools a t their disposal children must have experience a situation multiple times before learning how to understand it and communicate within it.   One thing that I got confused about was the "joint-attentional scene"  I understand that it is necessary according to Tomasello for language development, but it am confused about how it actually works.