Brinchmann, E. I., Røe-Indregård, H., Karlsen, J., Schauber, S. K., Hagtvet, B. E. (2023): The linguistic complexity of adult and child contextualized and decontextualized talk

Authors

Ellen Irén Brinchmann, Hanne Røe-Indregård, Jannicke Karlsen, Stefan Kilian Schauber & Bente Eriksen Hagtvet

Abstract

The  association  between  decontextualized  talk  (DT;  i.e.,  talk  extending  beyond immediate  context)  and  child  language  outcomes  is  well-attested  but  not  well- understood. This study tested the hypothesis that DT is more linguistically complex than contextualized talk (CT).

Thirty-eight Norwegian children (M_age= 5.5 years; 25 girls; 30 Norwegian-speaking monolinguals and eight multilinguals) and their teachers  were  videotaped  during picture  book  reading,  story  card  conversations  and  toy  play  (collected  2010–2011  and  2017).

Results  show  that  DT  was  more  complex  than  CT  among  children  and teachers.  Both  types  of  talk  were  more  complex  during  book  reading  and story conversations  than  during  play.  The  conversational context should be accounted for when theorizing about the role of DT in language development.