More general all-purpose verbs in children with specific language impairment? Evidence from Greek for not fully lexical verbs in language development

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1029-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIA KAMBANAROS ◽  
KLEANTHES K. GROHMANN
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Light Verbs ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Light Verb Constructions ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Relevant Category

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses verbal performance and overuse of “not fully lexical verbs” by children with specific language impairment (SLI) and peers with typical language development (TLD). Experimental data come from picture-naming and retell narratives. Fourteen school-aged children with SLI (mean age = 6 years, 9 months) participated alongside 50 language- and age-matched peers with TLD. The results revealed that children with SLI do not use light verb constructions but only general all-purpose (GAP) verbs when unable to produce single-word, specific lexical verbs. Moreover, they do not differ from language-matched TLD children in this respect. As such, GAP verbs should be viewed as symptoms of immature language or absent representations rather than impaired language. Consequently, when discussing not fully lexical verbs productions in (a)typical development, researchers should make the fundamental distinction between GAP verbs and light verbs, and focus on GAP verbs as the relevant category in SLI.

Cognition and Communication

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 964-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith R. Johnston ◽  
Linda B. Smith ◽  
Peggy Box
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Object Type ◽  
Attentional Capacity ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Normal Language

Ten children with specific language impairment and 10 children with normal language development were asked to describe objects so that a listener could select them. Each trial targeted two out of a group of three toys. The targeted objects were identical or were similar in size or color. Children in the two groups did not differ in referential success, although children in both groups found the size items more difficult. Content analysis of the messages did reveal differences in the referential strategies used most frequently. Children with specific language impairment were more likely to mention the attributes of each object separately, rather than to describe the characteristics common to a pair of objects. Children in both groups talked about separate objects more often when talking about size than about color or object type. Use of this strategy could indicate the effects of attentional capacity on children's solutions to communication tasks.

scholarly journals Connective processing by bilingual children and monolinguals with specific language impairment: distinct profiles

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLEM M. MAK ◽  
ELENA TRIBUSHININA ◽  
JULIA LOMAKO ◽  
NATALIA GAGARINA ◽  
EKATERINA ABROSOVA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Production Studies ◽  
Two Populations

AbstractProduction studies show that both Russian-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and bilingual children for whom Russian is a non-dominant language have difficulty distinguishing between the near-synonymous connectivesi‘and’ anda‘and/but’.Iis a preferred connective when reference is maintained, whereasais normally used for reference shift. We report an eye-tracking experiment comparing connective processing by Russian-speaking monolinguals with typical language development (TLD) with that of Russian–Dutch bilinguals and Russian-speaking monolinguals with SLI (age 5–6). The results demonstrate that the processing profiles of monolinguals with TLD and bilinguals are similar: both groups use connective semantics immediately for predicting further discourse. In contrast, children with SLI do not show sensitivity to these semantic differences. Despite similar production profiles, bilinguals and monolinguals with SLI are clearly different in connective processing. We discuss the implications of these results for the possible causes of the errors in the two populations.

Jumping around and leaving things out: A profile of the narrative abilities of children with specific language impairment

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Elisabeth Miranda ◽  
Allyssa McCabe ◽  
Lynn S. Bliss
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
Event Sequencing ◽  
Experimental Group

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the discourse coherence of school-aged children with specific language impairment (SLI). The following dimensions of discourse are analyzed: topic maintenance, event sequencing, explicitness (including referencing), conjunctive cohesion, and fluency. The personal narratives of the children in the experimental group were compared with those produced by two groups of children with normal language development, one group matched by chronological age and the other matched by language level. The narratives of the children with SLI were significantly impaired compared with both control groups with respect to all five dimensions of narration, although impairment was far more pronounced for topic maintenance, event sequencing, and implicitness than it was for conjunctive cohesion or fluency. The former serious impairments place a heavy burden on listeners. Theoretical and clinical implications of the results are discussed.

Children with specific language impairment. Laurence B. Leonard. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998. Pp. 339.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-311
Author(s):  
Lynne E. Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Sensory Deficits ◽  
Nature Versus Nurture ◽  
Linguistic Impairment

Laurence Leonard is one of the most prolific and well-respected researchers in the area of specific language impairment (SLI) in children, and he is well qualified to write a book surveying the topic. SLI is a disorder of unknown origin, which appears to have a genetic component, causing delays and disorders of language development in children of normal nonverbal intelligence with no significant medical, emotional, or sensory deficits. The primary purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive review of research in the field of SLI, and Leonard has the minute knowledge necessary to succeed at the task. The coverage in the book reaches back to the earliest nineteenth-century descriptions of children who fit the profile and then moves forward quickly to the massive literature that has accumulated on the topic in the last 20 years. Following the introductory historical and definitional section, Leonard goes on to describe the nature of the linguistic impairment in SLI, including important cross-linguistic accounts and nonlinguistic cognitive issues. The book also covers hypotheses of causation, in a “nature versus nurture” section, and clinical issues of assessment and intervention. Part V, on theory, may be of most interest to psycholinguists who are not language disorders specialists. Overall, there is no doubt that this book is both an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with SLI and a welcome overview and resource for experts. Leonard's knowledge is encyclopedic, his presentation erudite, and his grasp of detail unfailingly impressive.

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