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Uses of past forms in the social pretend play of Italian children*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Tullia Musatti  and
Margherita Orsolini
Tullia Musatti*
Affiliation:
Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Rome
Margherita Orsolini
Affiliation:
Università D'Annunzio, Chieti
*
Address for correspondence: Istituto di Psicologia, Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Rome, Italy.
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Abstract

In different languages children have been found to use past verb forms to express the meaning of ‘unreality’ during social pretend play. In this study, the verb forms used by 14 four-year-old Italian children in their pretend play were investigated. Results show that different Italian past verb forms tend to co-occur with different play activities. The imperfect occurs mainly when children plan and negotiate their pretend activities and marks the transition from a real to a pretend frame of reference. The present perfect occurs mainly when children implement their plans and communicate within a pretend frame that has already been established. Results of this study are discussed in comparison with findings on the pretend language of children speaking other languages.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , October 1993 , pp. 619 - 639
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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Footnotes

[*]

We are grateful to Catherine Garvey who suggested that we should study children's pretend language and supported us with her advice and comments throughout the study. We also wish to thank Hermine Sinclair for many insightful suggestions and comments.

References

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