1991/10/01 by Anne H. Anderson, Aileen Clark, James Mullin · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Computer Science · Psychology · #Language Development and Disorders #Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies #Speech and dialogue systems
paper · doi:10.1017/s0305000900011302
openalex publication_date 1991/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Young speakers in dialogue must establish mutual knowledge. Traditionally, researchers have focused on how children used indefinite and definite articles to signal novel and shared information. In this study of 170 children aged seven to thirteen, the form of introduction chosen, whether question or statement, is more significant than the type of article used. No developmental effects on article use emerge, with statement + indefinite always the least common choice. However, young speakers use question introductions significantly less than older children. There is also a developmental interaction between speakers' and listeners' behaviour. Question introduction elicit effective listener responses at all ages, but only twelve-year-olds respond reliably to statements. Unfortunately, young speakers prefer just those forms of introduction to which young listeners are least likely to provide informative feedback. Thus two separate developmental effects appear to combine to hamper young subjects' chances of achieving successful communication in dialogues.