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A longitudinal analysis of young children's cohesion and noun specification in narratives*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Carole Peterson  and
Pamela Dodsworth
Carole Peterson*
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Pamela Dodsworth
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
*
Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St John's, Newfoundland, CanadaA1B 3X9.
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Abstract

The early production of nine cohesive devices during narration about personal experience was examined in an 18-month longitudinal study of 10 children between approximately age 2;0 and 3;6. The specification of noun phrases and types of noun errors were also explored. The number of cohesive ties increased with both age and MLU, due to increased pronominal reference and conjunctions (while clausal and verbal ellipsis decreased). Specific cohesive devices also were acquired at different MLU levels. Most noun phrases were non-problematic and errors declined with increasing age and MLU; specifically, noun omissions declined. However, when new nouns were introduced, approximately one out of five were ambiguous throughout the study. Thus, children's narratives become more comprehensible with age as cohesive links increase and noun errors decrease, but at 3;6 children are still having difficulty properly managing the introduction of novel nouns.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 1991 , pp. 397 - 415
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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Footnotes

*

The authors would like to thank the children who participated; they and their parents welcomed us into their homes over a long period of time, and for this we are extremely grateful. The data analysed here are part of Pamela Dodsworth's Master's thesis. This research was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council grant A0513, as well as additional funds from both the Dean of Science and Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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