Children's words: A developmental perspective

Children's semantic development is an area that has been extensively studied for decades. While much research has been conducted to focus upon words‘ cognitive or referential meanings, little has been done from the intercultural perspective. This chapter introduces a study with a focus on children‘s semantic development with particular emphasis on cultural meanings and cultural differences. The study involved the participation of ten children from Australian and Vietnamese backgrounds. The study started with inviting verbal explanations and definitions of words. A trichotomy of form, meaning, and function was also used to guide the discussion with the children about words. The study analysed what words with social meanings (such as wife, teacher and neighbour) mean to children of different cultural backgrounds. This chapter provides a discussion with examples and data gathered in this research.