Cooper-Leavitt presents several anthropological theories of language and relates these theories to the childhood project of constructing reality, analyzing this reality-constructing language process in order to determine the factors accounting for the difference between childhood and adult perceptions of reality. In order to apply and explore the implications of these theories, Cooper-Leavitt conducts a native ethnography of her brothers' language mistakes and experiences. She concludes that a reality gap exists between adults and children due to the fact that children are thrown into a pre-established culture of language and have to assimilate themselves by referring to adult examples and prior experiences. A child gains in cultural and linguistic competence when his language mistakes emphasize a deficiency in his cultural understanding and consequently educate him in proper behaviors. Created by Jessica Cooper-Leavitt when she was enrolled in Jill Terry Rudy's English 391 course in Winter 2002.