Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Language is power. Especially among preschool children, where one of the most coveted identities sought during social interactions is that of the leader. Leadership is not taken; it is given when individuals accept instructions from someone else and let them lead. These individuals then become followers. I decided, after reading various literature and scientific research about children’s peer talk and linguistic interactions, to study how preschool children use linguistic interactions and strategies to form the identities of leaders and followers during free play; scheduled points during the day where activities are based on the children’s interests and not led by preschool teachers, which aids in trying to see things from the children’s perspective. I did a video-enabled microethnographic study over the course of a week as a complete observer to capture the strategies used by five children (ages 5 to 6) to form the identities of leaders and followers during their peer talk and peer group interactions. After transcribing the recorded material where these social interactions were most apparent, I then analyzed at which points the children were given these identities and what strategies were used as resources from a sociolinguistic perspective. Three primary strategies were identified; speech genres, code-switching and language play. I also discovered that the children were inspired by their surroundings and the available materials in choosing what to play and base their linguistic interactions on. I concluded that leadership is closely related to expertise about various subjects and that followers allow individuals with more expertise than them to lead. This is how our society typically works. The children used their various levels of expertise regarding the subject matter and strategies like speech genres, code-switching and language play as resources to raise their own status and attempt to lower the status of others, forming the identities of leaders and followers.