ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses research on preschoolers' conversations. Conversations are a fundamental, yet mysterious, part of life. Preschool children are members of communities which are rich in conversations—communities such as families, neighborhoods, nursery schools, and daycare centers. Children are sophisticated language users. The chapter describes on the complex language expertise that children have acquired with oral texts before they even enter kindergarten. The theory of double-voice discourse reorients the debate about gender differences in talk from one described simplistically in terms of gendered polarities to one that reframes the issues and behaviors in a more complex way. Whether children's talk is gendered on any particular occasion is likely to depend on the context in which the talk occurs and the gender of the partner with whom the child is speaking. The chapter provides some examples of ordinary conversations between preschoolers. It discovers a glimpse into children's sophistication in constructing and interpreting the oral texts that embody their daily world.
