Japanese Preschool Children's Personal Narratives: A Sociolinguistic Study.

Personal narratives of 20 middle-class Japanese preschoolers, half of them 4 years old and half 5 years old, and their mothers were analyzed using stanza analysis and high point analysis. The patterning in stanzas yielded the following: (1) with regard to the proportion of three-verse stanzas, there were no differences between the groups of 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, and adults (i.e., mothers); that is, the proportion of three-verse stanzas remains unstable across the three groups. (2) However, a smaller proposition of two-verse stanzas and, in contrast, a larger proportion of four- or more verse stanzas produced by 5-year-olds, indicated that they produce slightly longer stanzas than do 4-year-olds. (3) Furthermore, no difference was observed between 5-year-olds and adults in any types of stanzas. It was concluded that compared to 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds have begun to use the form of adult-like narratives. High point analysis indicated the following: (1) compared to adults, young children emphasized a temporal sequence of action with less emphasis on nonsequential information, especially orientation. (2) Although 4-year-olds gave proportionately less evaluation than adults, no differences were observed between 5-year-olds and adults. Therefore, compared to 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds have begun to evaluate in the form of adult-like narratives. The study illuminates the ages at which various narrative components develop and that from early childhood on, Japanese children learn the narrative mode of discourse valued by their mothers. (Author)