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“El nen s'ha menjat una aranya”: The development of narratives in Catalan speaking children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2020

Marta CABALLERO ,
Melina APARICI ,
Mònica SANZ-TORRENT ,
Ros HERMAN ,
Anna JONES  and
Gary MORGAN
Marta CABALLERO
Affiliation:
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
Melina APARICI
Affiliation:
Universitat Autonoma Barcelona, Spain
Mònica SANZ-TORRENT
Affiliation:
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
Ros HERMAN
Affiliation:
City University of London, UK
Anna JONES
Affiliation:
University College London, UK
Gary MORGAN*
Affiliation:
City University of London, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Gary Morgan, City University London - Language and Communication Science Northampton Square, London, EC1v 0HB E-mail: G.Morgan@city.ac.uk
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Abstract

The production of a well-constructed narrative is the culmination of several years of language acquisition and is an important milestone in children's development. There is no current description of narrative development for Catalan speaking children. This study collected elicited narratives in Catalan from 118 children aged 4;0–10;11. Narratives were scored for macrostructure and microstructure. Narrative scores improved with age with maximum performance for macrostructure by 9 years. Children's ability to use micro-structural components of Catalan is variable with some developments continuing beyond 9 years. The results are discussed in relation to theoretical arguments about universal and specific features of narrative development. We conclude by highlighting the usefulness of the new test for future language assessment of children acquiring Catalan.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 47 , Issue 5 , September 2020 , pp. 1030 - 1051
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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