臺灣與美國低收入家庭幼兒的會話輪替行為研究

Turn-taking Behavior in Children of Low-income Families in Taiwan and the US

本研究旨在探討臺灣與美國低收入家庭幼兒，在會話輪替過程中話輪類型、話輪分配分式、打斷與重疊的表現。幼兒平均年齡為四歲六個月，臺灣與美國幼兒各十位。研究者蒐集家庭用餐時的會話語料，並採用「兒童語料交換系統」進行轉譯、編碼與分析。研究結果顯示：（1）在話輪類型方面，臺灣與美國幼兒最常以單句話輪進行對話，但美國幼兒的複句話輪及句群話輪比例顯著高於臺灣幼兒。（2）在話輪分配方式方面，幼兒最常以「聽者自選為說話者」的方式進行輪替，而在「說者指定發言」的方式中，臺美家庭指定幼兒說話的機會高。（3）幼兒出現打斷與重疊的次數不高，但美國幼兒話輪被家人打斷的比例顯著高於臺灣幼兒。臺灣與美國幼兒在會話輪替過程中的話輪類型及打斷的表現有差異。本研究有助於瞭解臺灣與美國低收入家庭幼兒的輪替行為，文末提出本研究之限制與對未來研究的建議。

This study examined turn constructional units, turn-allocation, interruption and overlaps in young children during meal table conversations. Twenty children of low income families, ten from Taiwan and ten from the US, with the mean age of 4; 6, participated in this study. Family conversations during mealtime were audio- taped and then transcribed, coded, and analyzed using the Child Language Data Exchange System. Results of this study were stated as follows: (1) Both Taiwanese and American children conversed with single-clause turns most frequently but proportions of dual-clause and multi-clause turns in American children were significantly higher than those produced by Taiwanese children. (2) Children often started turns spontaneously and both in Taiwan and American families the chances children were allocated to be the next speakers were high. (3) Frequencies of interruptions and overlaps in both Taiwanese and American meal table conversations were not high, but proportion of turns being interrupted in American children were significantly higher than those in Taiwanese children. There are differences in turn constructional units and interruption between Taiwanese and the US children. This study provided important findings of turn-taking behavior in young children across Taiwan and the US. Limitations of this study and suggestions for further studies were discussed.