Communication in symbolic play

SUMMARY There is an increasing number of studies and papers which highlight the social function of speech and the importance of communication in the context of social interactions. Our study analyses communication between children, namely the speech in connection with the social interactions of children. Symbolic play is one of the important activities which is very frequent in the preschool period and where a significant part of communication relates to the social context; for this reason we analysed communication between children. The sample included children of three age groups (3–4, 4–5, 5–6 years); they were videotaped in their symbolic play and special attention was paid to the registration of the children's verbalisation in their play. The records of the children's speech were analysed from the linguistic point of view and differences in communication patterns were established with regard to the children's age and the type of symbolic play.