Abstract
In this study, natural conversations between a young girl and her mother were recorded in a car over a 17-month period (from ages 4:4 to 5:8), mainly when they were driving home from nursery school. Analysis of the recordings (34 hours over 153 days) focused on conversations that depicted the girl in relation to her nursery school friends. In 50 episodes concerning her interpersonal experiences at the nursery school, the girl frequently compared or enumerated her friends and herself, using several criteria such as their abilities or their roles in pretend play. In the early portions of the recordings, only simple comparisons and enumeration were observed. But later in the tapings, several narratives or explanations concerning the characteristics of the enumerated person were skillfully inserted into the enumeration. Whereas the mother directly supported her child's expressions in the early part of the research period, her role gradually changed, and the communication became increasingly mutual and collaborative.
