The use of referring expressions in Mandarin-speaking children with and without developmental language disorder

This study investigated the use of referring expressions in Mandarin-speaking children with and without developmental language disorder (DLD). The data consist of narratives elicited from 18 children with DLD and 18 typically-developing (TD) children matched on chronological age. Participants' referring expressions were analysed in terms of referential form, function, and adequacy. The overall results of form - function mappings showed that the two groups of children were quite similar in their referential choices, indicating that both groups were sensitive to function constraints and listener needs. On the other hand, children with DLD were less successful than TD children in producing adequate subsequent mentions, suggesting that referential adequacy would be useful for identifying areas of difficulty children with DLD would have in referencing.