Diversity in the Conversational Repertoire: The Case of Conflicts and Social Pretending

Abstract

Interpersonal conflicts and sequences of misunderstandings of the interpretative frame (as "real" or "pretend") were examined in the videotaped interactions of 19 pairs of preschool-age children. Several linguistic/pragmatic devices employed for disambiguating frame and for handling opposition during the planning and conducting of play activity were identified and discussed. The devices are characteristic of a mitigated style of interactional response. The dual requirements of mutual agreement on interpretative frame and maintenance of willing collaboration in the construction of make-believe play are hypothesized to underlie the relatively sophisticated level of disambiguation and conflict-handling observed in these interactions.