Development of Narrative Competence in Mano, Mande

First Language. 2026. Vol. 46. No. 4. P. 856–887.

Khachaturyan M., Konoshenko M., Moroz G., Mamy P., Carbo M.

This paper provides an overview of morphological and syntactic means of relating events in narratives in Mano, a Mande language of West Africa. For this study, we collected a corpus containing retellings in Mano of an animated movie, “Kirikou et la sorcière,” as well as other narratives, mostly folktales, told by children and adults. Overall, a linear mixed-effect model revealed a statistically significant effect of text type and age, with increased predicted values of entropy in free narratives as well as in older speakers. We explored the following aspects: narrative chains, connectivity, and hierarchical
organization. We compared texts based on the narrator’s age and the narrative type (narrative retelling vs. free narratives). Both factors played a role for various aspects of narrative organization. There were very few developmental or genre differences in the use of main tense forms used in the narrative chain. By contrast, connecting devices and means of hierarchical organization were used more and were more varied
in older children and adults. Hierarchical organization was also more developed in free narratives than in Kirikou retellings but means of expressing connectivity were more diverse in Kirikou retellings than in free narratives.

Keywords: acquisition, aspect, narrative competence, absolute tense, Mande, narrative retelling, complex syntax

Publication based on the results of: Linguistic and cognitive diversity in formal models, computer tools, and educational resources (2025)