Activities and social settings: Their roles in the use of referring expressions

Abstract We investigated the influence of activity and social setting on the use of referring expressions in French-speaking children. Three groups were observed: 25 children ages 1;7 to 2;6 in three activities with their mother (picture-based, play, and daily routines), 15 children ages 3;9 to 7;4 in joint picture-book storytelling and symbolic play with their mother, and 10 children ages 3;9 to 7;4 in joint storytelling at home and at school. The type of referring expression and its position in the referential chain were coded. The results demonstrated the impact of the activity on the use of referring expressions in the first two groups, whereas the position in the referential chain affected the use of referring expressions only in the second group. In the home-school comparison, social setting influenced the use of referring expressions in interaction with the position in the referential chain.