Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-5r2nc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-07T19:14:21.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Topic and communicative intent in mother–child discourse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Susan K. Wanska  and
Jan L. Bedrosian
Susan K. Wanska
Affiliation:
Kansas State University
Jan L. Bedrosian
Affiliation:
Kansas State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examined topic discourse skills in 30 pre-operational level children interacting with their mothers in a free play situation. For each interaction, topic initiations/shadings were analysed for here-and-now, fantasy, and displacement topics. All turns (initiations, shadings and maintenance) involving these topic categories were also coded for communicative intent. Results indicated that children initiated/shaded more fantasy topics than their mothers, who initiated/shaded more displacement topics. Topic maintenance was significantly greater for fantasy and here-and-now topics than for displacement. Mothers initiated/shaded and maintained topics primarily by requests for all three topic categories. Children used more informatives to initiate/shade these topics, and maintained fantasy and displacement topics primarily by responses to mothers' questions. The results suggested a complex picture of children's management of discourse as it relates to topic and mothers' continuing role in facilitating their children's discourse skills.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , October 1986 , pp. 523 - 535
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bedrosian, J. L. & Willis, T. L. (1984). Effects of intervention on a school-aged child's topic performance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association, San Francisco,California.Google Scholar
Bloom, L., Rocissano, L. & Hood, L. (1976). Adult–child discourse: developmental interaction between information processing and linguistic knowledge. CogPsych 8. 521–52.Google Scholar
Chapman, R. S. (1981). Exploring children's communicative intents. In Miller, J. F. (ed.), Assessing language production in children: experimental procedures. Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Corsaro, W. A. (1974). Sociolinguistic patterns in adult–child interaction. Unpublished manuscript, Indiana University, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Coxford, A. F. (1964). The effects of instruction on stage placement in Piaget's seriation experiments. The Arithmetic Teacher 1. 4–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elkind, D. (1964). Discrimination, seriation, and numeration of size and dimensional differences in young children: Piaget replication study VI. JGenetPsych 104. 275–96.Google ScholarPubMed
Folger, J. & Puck, S. (1976). Coding relational communication: a question approach. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association,Portland, Oregon.Google Scholar
Foster, S. (1980). The emergence of topic type in children under 2;6: a chicken and egg problem. PRCLD 21. 52–60.Google Scholar
Gottman, J. M. (1983). How children become friends. MonogSocResChDev 48. No. 3.Google Scholar
Kamii, C. (1971). Evaluation of learning in preschool education. In Bloom, B.., Hastings, J.. & Madaus, G.. (eds), Handbook on formative and summative evaluation of student learning. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Kamii, C. & Peper, R. A. (1969). A Piagetian method of evaluating preschool children's development in classification. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Kavanaugh, R. D., Whittington, S. & Cerbone, M. J. (1983). Mothers' use of fantasy in speech to young children. JChLang 10. 45–55.Google ScholarPubMed
Keenan, E. & Schieffelin, B. (1976). Topic as a discourse notion: a study of topic in the conversations of children and adults. In Li, C.. (ed.), Subject and topic: a new typology of language. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lucariello, J. (1983). Context and conversations. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development,Detroit, Michigan.Google Scholar
McCune-Nicolich, L. & Carroll, S. (1981). Development of symbolic play: implications for the language specialist. Topics in Language Disorders 2. 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, J. F. (1981). Assessing language production in children. Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Mishler, E. (1975). Studies in dialogue and discourse. II. Types of discourse initiated by and sustained through questioning. JPsycholingRes 4. 99–121.Google Scholar
Moerk, E. L. (1975). Verbal interactions between children and their mothers during the preschool years. DevPsych 6. 788–94.Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1951). Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Sachs, J. (1979). Topic selection in parent–child discourse. Discourse Processes 2. 145–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sachs, J. (1983). Talking about the there and then: the emergence of displaced reference in parent–child discourse. In Nelson, K. E. (ed.), Children's language, Vol. 4. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Schegloff, E. A. & Sacks, H. (1973). Opening up closings. Semiotica 4. 289–327.Google Scholar
Söderbergh, R. (1980). Story-telling, dramatic role play and displaced speech in play with dolls. FirstLang 1. 209–22.Google Scholar
Wanska, S. K., Bedrosian, J. L. & Pohlman, J. C. (1986). Effects of play materials on the topic performance of preschool children. Lang, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. 17. 152–9.Google Scholar
Wiggins, J. S. (1973). Personality and prediction: principles of personality assessment. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar