This study investigates the vocabulary development of preschool children in the five programs of the Mt. Druitt Early Childhood Project, New South Wales, Australia. A Vocabulary Assessment Task was designed to tap the customary style of reference used by preschool children in response to familiar objects, and to test the qualitative levels of the child's vocabulary in relation to selected referents. Objects used in the study were selected from familiar objects among the child's personal effects, his or her home environment, and those evident in a wider environment. The vocabulary tasks offered the opportunity for both naming and functional responses to occur. Spontaneous, productive and receptive responses were elicited. All responses were scored correct, incorrect or "don't know." The final sample of subjects consisted of 27 boys and 27 girls and was distributed across the five preschool programs. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Crosstabs Program. This analysis produced contingency tables for each level of response with a breakdown for the five programs and sex of respondent. No correlation was found when children's vocabulary task scores were compared with their scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Results indicate the pervasiveness of functional description in the language of preschool children. (Author/RH)