Global and local connections in Mandarin-speaking children’s narratives: A developmental study based on the frog story

Abstract

Chinese Language Narration: Culture, cognition, and emotion is a collection of papers presenting original research on narration in Mandarin, especially as it contrasts to what is known regarding narration in English. One chapter addresses dinner table conversation between Chinese immigrant parents and children in the United States compared to non-immigrant peers. Other chapters consider evaluation patterns in Mandarin versus English, referencing strategies, coherence patterns, socioeconomic differences among Taiwanese Mandarin-speaking children, and differences in narration due to Specific Language Impairment and schizophrenia. Several chapters address developmental concerns. Distinctive aspects of narration in Mandarin are linked to larger issues of autobiographical memory. Mandarin is spoken by far more people than any other language, yet narration in this language has received notably less attention than narration in Western languages. This collective effort is a critical addition to our understanding of cross-cultural similarities and differences in how people make sense of experiences through narrative.

Table of Contents: \r\n1. List of contributors, pvii-viii; \r\n. Introduction (by McCabe, Allyssa), p1-6; \r\n3. Narrative self-making during dinnertime conversations in Chinese immigrant families (by Koh, Jessie Bee Kim), p7-32; \r\n4. Evaluation in Mandarin Chinese children`s personal narratives (by Chang, Chien-ju), p33-56; \r\n5. Chinese and English referential skill in Taiwanese children`s spoken narratives (by Sung, Ming-hui), p57-84; \r\n6. Global and local connections in Mandarin-speaking children`s narratives: A developmental study based on the frog story (by Sah, Wen-hui), p85-114; \r\n7. Socioeconomic differences in Taiwanese children`s personal narratives: Conjunctions, internal state terms, and narrative structures (by Lai, Wen-Feng), p115-142; \r\n8. A study of narrative development of young Chinese children with specific language impairment aged four to six years (by Zhang, Fangfang), p143-180; \r\n9. Narratives of Mandarin-speaking patients with schizophrenia (by Hsu, Ning), p181-206