Review of Britton & Pellegrini (1990): Narrative Thought and Narrative Language

Abstract What is the classic in history? What is a classic in historical writing? Very few historians and critics have addressed these questions, and when they have done so, it has been only in a cursory manner. These are queries that require some explanation regarding historical texts because of their peculiar ambivalence between science and art, content and form, sources and imagination, scientific and narrative language. Based on some examples of the Western historiographical tradition, I discuss in this article to what extent historians should engage the concept of the classic – as has been done for literary texts. If one assumes that the historical text is not only a referential account but also a narrative analogous to literary texts, then the concept of the classic becomes one of the keys for understanding the historical text – and may improve our understanding not only of historiography, but of history itself. I will argue in this article that it is possible to identify a category of the classic text in some historical writings, precisely because of the literarity they possess without losing their specific historical condition. Because of their narrative condition, historical texts share some of the features assigned to literary texts – that is, endurance, timelessness, universal meaningfulness, resistance to historical criticism, susceptibility to multiple interpretations, and ability to function as models. Yet, since historical texts do not construct imaginary worlds but reflect external realities, they also have to achieve some specific features according to this referential content – that is, surplus of meaning, historical use of metaphors, effect of contemporaneity without damaging the pastness of the past, and a certain appropriation of literariness. Without seeking to be normative or systematic, this article focuses on some specific features of the historical classic, offering a series of reflections to open rather than try to close a debate on this complex topic.

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Explicit instruction targeting oral narrative structure is feasible and may improve pragmatic and narrative language during story retelling by children with Williams syndrome1

Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention ◽

10.1080/17489539.2021.2013618 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Emily Fowler ◽

Stephanie Webb ◽

Jessica Price ◽

Serena R. Garza ◽

Russell Lang

Keyword(s):

Explicit Instruction ◽

Narrative Structure ◽

Oral Narrative ◽

Story Retelling ◽

Narrative Language

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The Effect of Narrative Language Intervention on the Language Skills of Children With Hearing Loss

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2021_persp-20-00239 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Stephanie M. Raymond ◽

Trina D. Spencer

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Visual Analysis ◽

Language Skills ◽

Language Intervention ◽

Story Grammar ◽

Baseline Design ◽

Narrative Intervention ◽

Children With Hearing Loss ◽

Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽

Narrative Language

Purpose Narrative intervention has not been extensively investigated with children with hearing loss, but it has been shown to improve a broad range of language skills of children with a variety of disabilities and language needs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of narrative language intervention on the narrative retelling skills and vocabulary use of children with hearing loss. Method A multiple baseline design (for retelling) and a repeated acquisition design (for vocabulary) were used to fulfill the purpose of the study. Participants included two children ages 5 and 9 years diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, fitted to an amplification device. Each child received one 70-min session of individual narrative language intervention per week for at least 6 weeks that focused on teaching less common vocabulary words in addition to story grammar and complex sentences. Results Both participants demonstrated weekly increases in narrative retell scores and repeated pretest to posttest gains in the use of targeted vocabulary. Evidenced through visual analysis, both participants showed some growth in retell once intervention was introduced, with at least a modest upward trend each week. Moreover, vocabulary use scores, collected directly after intervention, showed both participants improved vocabulary use in familiar and untrained contexts. Conclusions Results suggest narrative language intervention improved the narrative retell ability and vocabulary use of children with hearing loss. Narrative intervention is a promising approach for promoting the language skills of children with hearing loss, but this finding requires replication.

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