THE TEMPORAL REFERENCE OF FUTURE IN THE SPONTANEOUS LANGUAGE OF CHILDREN

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the developmental process of the use of future utterances. It was also investigated whether different temporal reference systems are used in the process, starting from an absolute reference system to reach a relative one. 84 children from both sex between 2.6 and 13 years old were studied. The analyzed sample of language comprised 30 minutes of spontaneous conversation with class mates. Results show significant changes in the frequency of use and the temporal value of the different expressions throughout the ages. It is concluded that in the developmental process the cognitive management of the concept of reference time is crucial to be able to express the future appropriately.