The development of discourse markers in peer interaction

Abstract

Discourse markers are linguistic elements that signal relations between units of talk, relations at the exchange, action, ideational, and participation framework levels of the discourse (Schiffrin, 1987). To what extent do young children use markers in these ways, indexing their ability to differentiate these levels of talk? Four- and seven-year children were paired in best-friend dyads and observed interacting in two activity contexts: pretend play with a scenario toy, and story re-telling, in which one child was read a story and retold the story to the friend on another day. Different activity contexts promoted different uses of markers. Moreover, children at the two ages differed in the activity contexts they preferred and experienced in their social life with peers. These two factors help explain developmental changes in uses of markers.