Emotional discourse and its role in the development of the knowledge of emotionsThe term “emotional discourse” refers to the child’s participation in conversations about emotions. A great body of research (Dunn et al., 1991; Dunn, Brophy, 2005; Harris, 2005; Peterson, Slaughter, 2006) indicate that there is a significant correlation between the child’s participation in emotional discourse (with his/her mother, siblings or friends) and his/her emotional knowledge. The aim of the article is to analyze the role of emotional discourse in the development of the knowledge of emotions. Theories of discourse (van Dijk, 1985; 1990; Shugar, 1995) and of cognitive development (Karmiloff-Smith, 1992; Stemplewska-Żakowicz, 2001; Tomasello, 2002) indicate that in discourse the child has an opportunity to gain knowledge about invisible phenomena and is confronted with distinct perspectives. The child has also an opportunity to name and organize his/her emotions and to make distinctions between them due to verbal terms provided by his/her partner in discourse. Therefore the child’s participation in emotional discourse facilitaties his/her becom ing aware of his/her emotional states together with their causes and consequences, and – due to confrontation with distinct perspectives – the development of the discursive representation of emotions
