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Chapter 3. Young children’s uses of referring expressions

  • Christine da Silva-Genest , Haydée Marcos , Anne Salazar-Orvig , Stéphanie Caët and Julien Heurdier

Abstract

This chapter investigates the repertoire and the uses of referring expressions in natural dialogues of 28 French-speaking children, aged between 1;7 and 2;6 years old. We focus on three strong forms (nouns, strong demonstrative pronouns and strong personal pronouns) and three weak forms (clitic personal pronouns, null forms and fillers). Their uses are analyzed for the following factors: the linguistic development, the type of referent (participants vs. entities), the syntactic function, and the attentional and discursive status of the referent. The results reveal contrasted uses of referring expressions. Nouns are mainly used for new or reintroduced referents, generally in syntactic functions other than subject, whereas clitic personal pronouns (as well as the other weak forms) are mainly used for given referents and always as subjects. The type of referent (entities vs. participants) also influences the use of referring expressions. The discussion addresses the issue of the intertwining of morphological, syntactic and pragmatic development.

Abstract

This chapter investigates the repertoire and the uses of referring expressions in natural dialogues of 28 French-speaking children, aged between 1;7 and 2;6 years old. We focus on three strong forms (nouns, strong demonstrative pronouns and strong personal pronouns) and three weak forms (clitic personal pronouns, null forms and fillers). Their uses are analyzed for the following factors: the linguistic development, the type of referent (participants vs. entities), the syntactic function, and the attentional and discursive status of the referent. The results reveal contrasted uses of referring expressions. Nouns are mainly used for new or reintroduced referents, generally in syntactic functions other than subject, whereas clitic personal pronouns (as well as the other weak forms) are mainly used for given referents and always as subjects. The type of referent (entities vs. participants) also influences the use of referring expressions. The discussion addresses the issue of the intertwining of morphological, syntactic and pragmatic development.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. List of Figures ix
  4. List of Tables xi
  5. List of Contributors xvii
  6. Introduction
  7. Chapter 1. A dialogical approach to the acquisition and usage of referring expressions 1
  8. Part I. Reference and grammar
  9. Chapter 2. Filler syllables as precursors of referring expressions 41
  10. Chapter 3. Young children’s uses of referring expressions 81
  11. Chapter 4. Referring in dialogical narratives 115
  12. Chapter 5. Referring expressions and developmental language disorders 141
  13. Chapter 6. Explorations in the relations between reference, syntactic constructions and prosody 163
  14. Part II. The role of communicative experience
  15. Chapter 7. The influence of dialogue in young children’s uses of referring expressions 203
  16. Chapter 8. Variations in adult use of referring expressions during storytelling in different interactional settings 233
  17. Chapter 9. Activities and social settings: Their roles in the use of referring expressions 261
  18. Chapter 10. The impact of speech genres on the use of referring expressions 287
  19. Conclusion
  20. Chapter 11. The acquisition of referring expressions: From formal factors to communicative experience 319
  21. Appendix I. Corpora 347
  22. Appendix II. Transcription conventions 361
  23. Appendix III. A. Summary of “Ah les belles vacances des petits cochons” 363
  24. Appendix III. B. Summary of “Le voleur de poule” 365
  25. Index 367
The Acquisition of Referring Expressions
This chapter is in the book The Acquisition of Referring Expressions
https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.28.03das

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. List of Figures ix
  4. List of Tables xi
  5. List of Contributors xvii
  6. Introduction
  7. Chapter 1. A dialogical approach to the acquisition and usage of referring expressions 1
  8. Part I. Reference and grammar
  9. Chapter 2. Filler syllables as precursors of referring expressions 41
  10. Chapter 3. Young children’s uses of referring expressions 81
  11. Chapter 4. Referring in dialogical narratives 115
  12. Chapter 5. Referring expressions and developmental language disorders 141
  13. Chapter 6. Explorations in the relations between reference, syntactic constructions and prosody 163
  14. Part II. The role of communicative experience
  15. Chapter 7. The influence of dialogue in young children’s uses of referring expressions 203
  16. Chapter 8. Variations in adult use of referring expressions during storytelling in different interactional settings 233
  17. Chapter 9. Activities and social settings: Their roles in the use of referring expressions 261
  18. Chapter 10. The impact of speech genres on the use of referring expressions 287
  19. Conclusion
  20. Chapter 11. The acquisition of referring expressions: From formal factors to communicative experience 319
  21. Appendix I. Corpora 347
  22. Appendix II. Transcription conventions 361
  23. Appendix III. A. Summary of “Ah les belles vacances des petits cochons” 363
  24. Appendix III. B. Summary of “Le voleur de poule” 365
  25. Index 367
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