Relationships of 3-year-old Children in Terms of Ne-utterances during Their Play

Abstract

This study focused on ne-utterances during play and analyzed the connection between these utterances and how they are used in relationships among 3-year-old children. Children often utter Ne, which tacitly indicates the state of their relationships. Interactions of 3-year-old children in a nursery school were recorded on videotape during their play. First, this study categorized how ne-utterances were used. Second, this study chose two children who used more ne-utterances than others in the class, and examined how the type and number of their ne-utterances changed over a period of time. We found that (I) ne-utterances could be categorized into 15 functions; the "connect interval of speech" function was used the most frequently and affected continuing interactions; (II) changes in the children's relationships influenced the type and number of ne-utterances; and (III) ne-utterances are a clue for analyzing children's relationships.