Referential Cohesion in the Narratives of Spanish-Speaking Children

Forty-six Spanish-speaking children, ages 4, 6, and 8 years, were shown a short silent film and asked to tell the investigator what happened in the movie. All narratives were audiotaped and transcribed for analysis. The development of referential cohesion was examined based on the referential devices the children used to indicate characters, props, and places in their narratives and on their overall referential accuracy. The results demonstrated an increase in the use of elliptical reference to refer to places in stories, an increase in appropriate phrases, and a decrease in ambiguities and additions as children got older. Language-specific factors in the use of reference and individual differences in the achievement of referential cohesion are discussed.