This study investigates the use of relative clauses in French children's
narrative monologues. Narrative texts were collected from French-speaking monolinguals in four age groups (five, seven, ten years and
adults). Twenty subjects from each group were asked to tell a story
based on a picture book consisting of twenty-four images without text
(Frog, Where are you?). Relative constructions were coded following
the
categories defined by Dasinger & Toupin (1994) into two main functional
classes: general discourse and narrative functions. The results
show that the use of relative clauses in general discourse functions
precedes their use in more specific narrative functions. An analysis of
textual connectivity (Berman & Slobin, 1994) in one episode reveals
that
children and adults differ in their choice of preferred structures. The
results also show that children use fewer transitive predicates in relative
clauses than do adults. Transitive verbs are essential for advancing the
narrative plot (Hopper & Thompson, 1980). While subject relative
clauses are acquired early and used frequently, the development of their
multifunctional use in diverse narrative functions extends well beyond
childhood.