scholarly journals Does the Use of Complex Sentences Differentiate Between Bilinguals With and Without DLD? Evidence From Conversation and Narrative Tasks

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanne Paradis ◽  
Tamara Sorenson Duncan ◽  
Stephanie Thomlinson ◽  
Brian Rusk
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Adverbial Clauses

Over-identification of language disorder among bilingual children with typical development (TD) is a risk factor in assessment. One strategy for improving assessment accuracy with bilingual children is to determine which linguistic sub-domains differentiate bilingual children with TD from bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD). To date, little research on sequential bilinguals with TD and DLD has focussed on complex (multi-clausal) sentences in naturalistic production, even though this is a noted domain of weakness for school-age monolinguals with DLD. Accordingly, we sought to determine if there were differences in the use of complex sentences in conversational and narrative tasks between school-age sequential bilinguals with TD and with DLD at the early stages of L2 acquisition. We administered a conversation and a narrative task to 63 English L2 children with TD and DLD, aged 5–7 years with 2 years of exposure to the L2. Children had diverse first language backgrounds. The L2-TD and L2-DLD groups were matched for age, length of L2 exposure and general L2 proficiency (receptive vocabulary size). Language samples from both tasks were coded and analyzed for the use of complex versus simple sentences, for the distribution of complex sentence types, for clausal density and mean length of utterance (MLU). Complex sentences included coordinated clauses, sentential complement clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses. Using regression modelling and PERMANOVA, we found that the L2-TD group produced more complex sentences than the L2-DLD group, with coordinated clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses differing the most between the groups. Furthermore, the two groups differed for mean clausal density, but not for MLU, indicating that clausal density and MLU did not estimate identical morphosyntactic abilities. Individual variation in complex sentence production for L2-TD was predicted by longer L2 exposure and task; by contrast, for L2-DLD, it was predicted by older age. This study indicates that complex sentence production is an area of weakness for bilingual children with DLD, as it is for monolinguals with DLD. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

scholarly journals AN ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCES USED IN SELECTED THAI POLITICAL NEWS IN ONLINE BANGKOK POST

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Janjira Kongsakorn ◽  
Prommintra Kongkaew
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Sentence Type ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Political News ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Nominal Clause

The present work aimed to analyze complex sentences and study the types of the complex sentences as used in the selected Thai political news stories from online Bangkok Post. Four Thai political news stories were selected for the study. They were the news stories published in April 2016. The news stories were analyzed based on the following types: Adverbial clauses, relative clauses and nominal clauses. The study found that the complex sentence type which was used with the highest frequency was a nominal clause. It accounted for 44 %. The type of the complex sentence; which was ranked second in use was an adverbial clause. It accounted for 29%. The type of the complex sentences which was least used was a relative clause. It represents 27 %.

Syntax from and for discourse II: More on complex sentences as meso-constructions

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beate Hampe ◽  
Stefan Th. Gries
Keyword(s):  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Temporal Adverbial

Abstract This paper presents a direct continuation of preceding corpus-linguistic research on complex sentence constructions with temporal adverbial clauses in a cognitive and usage-based framework (Diessel 2008; Hampe 2015). Working towards a more systematic construction-based account of complex sentences with before-, after-, until- and once-clauses in spontaneously spoken English, Hampe (2015) hypothesised that the morpho-syntactic realisations of configurations with initial adverbial clauses systematically diverge from those of configurations with final ones as a reflection of the specific functionality of each and that usage properties that are found across instantiations with a coherent functional load are retained in the schematisations creating constructions. This paper employs a multinomial regression in order to test to which extent each of eight closely related complex-sentence constructions with either initial or final before-, after-, until- and once-clauses can be predicted from the realisation of a few key morpho-syntactic properties of the respective adverbial and matrix clauses involved. The results support an analysis of complex-sentence constructions as meso-constructions that are not only specific about the subordinator and the positioning of the adverbial clause, but also retain “traces” of characteristic usage properties.

scholarly journals The understanding of complex syntax in children with Down syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Frizelle ◽  
Paul A. Thompson ◽  
Mihaela Duta ◽  
Dorothy V. M. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Complex Syntax ◽  
Complement Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Digit Recall

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is associated with poor language skills that seem disproportionate to general nonverbal ability, but the nature and causes of this deficit are unclear. We assessed how individuals with DS understand complex linguistic constructions, and considered how cognitive ability and memory and impact the ability of those with DS to process these sentence types. Methods: There were three groups participating in the study: children with DS (n = 33) and two control groups composed of children with cognitive impairment of unknown aetiology (CI) (n = 32) and children with typical development (n = 33). The three groups did not differ on raw scores on a test of non-verbal cognitive ability. Using a newly devised animation task, we examined how well individuals with DS (n = 33) could understand relative clauses, complement clauses and adverbial clauses compared to children with CI and typically developing controls. Participants also completed the Test for the Reception of Grammar-2, three measures of memory (forward and backward digit recall, visuo-spatial memory) and a hearing screen. Results: Results indicated that (1) with the exception of intransitive subject relative clauses, children with DS performed at floor on all other complex sentences, (2) they performed at a significantly lower level than both control groups, and (3) DS status accounted for a significant proportion of the variance over and above memory skills. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children with DS have a disproportionate difficulty understanding complex sentences compared to two control groups matched on mental age. Furthermore, their understanding of syntax is not completely explained by poor cognitive or memory skills, rather it appears to be a specific deficit that may distinguish children with DS from other neurodevelopmental disorders.

scholarly journals The understanding of complex syntax in children with Down syndrome

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Frizelle ◽  
Paul A. Thompson ◽  
Mihaela Duta ◽  
Dorothy V. M. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Hearing Level ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Complement Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Digit Recall

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is associated with poor language skills that seem disproportionate to general nonverbal ability, but the nature and causes of this deficit are unclear. We assessed how individuals with DS understand complex linguistic constructions, and considered how cognitive ability, memory and hearing level impact the ability of those with DS to process these sentence types. Methods: There were three groups participating in the study: children with DS (n = 33) and two control groups composed of children with cognitive impairment of unknown aetiology (CI) (n = 32) and children with typical development (n = 33). Both groups were matched to those with DS on cognitive ability. Using a newly devised animation task, we examined how well individuals with DS (n = 33) could understand relative clauses, complement clauses and adverbial clauses compared to children with CI and typically developing controls. Participants also completed the Test for the Reception of Grammar-2, three measures of memory (forward and backward digit recall, visuo-spatial memory) and a hearing screen. Results: Results indicated that (1) with the exception of intransitive subject relative clauses, children with DS performed at floor on all other complex sentences, (2) they performed at a significantly lower level than both control groups, and (3) DS status accounted for a significant proportion of the variance over and above memory skills. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children with DS have a disproportionate difficulty understanding complex sentences compared to two control groups matched on mental age. Furthermore, their understanding of syntax is not completely explained by poor cognitive or memory skills, rather it appears to be a specific deficit that may distinguish children with DS from other neurodevelopmental disorders.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Size Influences Spontaneous Speech in Native Language Users: Validating the Use of Automatic Speech Recognition in Individual Differences Research

2020 ◽  
pp. 002383092091107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne R. Jongman ◽  
Yung Han Khoe ◽  
Florian Hintz
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Automatic Speech Recognition ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Speech Transcription ◽  
The Relationship

Previous research has shown that vocabulary size affects performance on laboratory word production tasks. Individuals who know many words show faster lexical access and retrieve more words belonging to pre-specified categories than individuals who know fewer words. The present study examined the relationship between receptive vocabulary size and speaking skills as assessed in a natural sentence production task. We asked whether measures derived from spontaneous responses to everyday questions correlate with the size of participants’ vocabulary. Moreover, we assessed the suitability of automatic speech recognition (ASR) for the analysis of participants’ responses in complex language production data. We found that vocabulary size predicted indices of spontaneous speech: individuals with a larger vocabulary produced more words and had a higher speech-silence ratio compared to individuals with a smaller vocabulary. Importantly, these relationships were reliably identified using manual and automated transcription methods. Taken together, our results suggest that spontaneous speech elicitation is a useful method to investigate natural language production and that automatic speech recognition can alleviate the burden of labor-intensive speech transcription.

An analysis of complex sentence structures in patients with schizophrenia

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysegul Ozcan ◽  
Gulmira Kuruoglu ◽  
Koksal Alptekin ◽  
Sumru Ozsoy
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Dsm Iv ◽  
Simple Sentences ◽  
And Control ◽  
Cognitive Problems

Patients with schizophrenia often display unusual language impairments and these abnormalities in language are among the most extreme and obvious symptoms in Schizophrenia Disorder. In this context, this research attempts to analyze and compare the schizophrenic patients’ and control group’s speech  in terms of complex sentence structures. Fifty patients with schizophrenia diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria have been includedd in the study and compared to fifty healthy subjects matched for age, sex and education level with the patients.  The subjects’ speech  has been  evaluated in four stages.  These are narration, story picture sequencing, semi-structured speech and free speech. The data consists of 8-10 minute recorded interviews.  The recordings have been transcribed based on DuBois’ Discourse Transcription Symbols. The statistical  and linguistic analyses have shown significant differences between complex sentence types’ of patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects’. The findings have demonstrated that due to the possible cognitive problems the speech produced by schizophrenia patients  is syntactically less complex than that of controls. Additionally, patients with schizophrenia use shorter and simple sentences instead of complex sentences compared to healthy subjects.Keywords: schizophrenia, sentence structure, complex sentence, language disorder, thought disorder.

scholarly journals Acceptance of lexical overlap by monolingual and bilingual toddlers

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1517-1530
Author(s):  
Marina Kalashnikova ◽  
Aimee Oliveri ◽  
Karen Mattock
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Linguistic Experience ◽  
Lexical Competence

Aims and Objectives: Mutual exclusivity refers to children’s assumption that there are one-to-one correspondences between words and their referents. It is proposed to guide the process of fast-mapping when children encounter novel words in referentially ambiguous situations. However, children are often required to suspend this default assumption and accept lexically overlapping labels, which is particularly common for bilingual children who learn multiple labels for most referents in their environment. Previous research has shown that school-aged bilinguals are more successful at learning overlapping labels than monolinguals, but the mechanisms underlying the development of this word-learning ability remain unknown. Methodology: This study investigated the ability to accept lexical overlap in monolingual and bilingual two-and-a-half-year-old children and its relation to children’s lexical competence. Children’s ability to retain two novel labels assigned to a novel referent was assessed in an interactive lexical overlap paradigm. In addition, parental inventories were used to measure children’s receptive vocabulary size and patterns of language exposure and use. Data and analysis: Data were collected from 68 (34 monolingual and 34 bilingual) children between 26 and 34 months of age. Binomial logistic regressions were used to assess the effects of children’s language background and their individual lexical competence (receptive vocabulary for monolinguals and bilinguals, and conceptual vocabulary size and degree of bilingualism for bilinguals). Findings: Results showed that vocabulary size was a significant predictor of lexical overlap performance for monolingual children, but this was not the case for bilinguals. Originality: These findings are the first to indicate that the individual linguistic experience of growing up monolingual or bilingual shapes the mechanisms that underlie the development and usage patterns of early word-learning strategies. Limitations: This study leaves open the question of what aspect of growing up bilingual leads children to develop word-learning strategies that are shaped by their linguistic experience.

Word form processing at school age: Evidence for similarities between bilingual and monolingual children

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Karin Hein ◽  
Christina Kauschke
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Word Form ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Form Processing

Abstract The present study aimed to explore the lexical processing abilities of bilingual school-aged children compared to their monolingual peers. Therefore, word form processing tasks (auditory lexical decision, rapid naming, rhyming), as well as traditional vocabulary tasks (word-picture matching and picture naming), were conducted in a cross-sectional design in a sample of 163 German monolingual and 39 bilingual primary school children (6-9 years), speaking German and another language. Regression analyses revealed that age, gender, and vocabulary size, but not bilingualism have an impact on performance in word form processing tasks. Group comparisons after propensity matching on age, gender, and vocabulary size revealed no significant group differences between monolingual and bilingual children in word form processing tasks. After the sample was divided into two age groups, bilingual children showed an initial weakness at ages 6 to 7 that seems to be overcome during primary school age.

Relative language exposure, processing efficiency and vocabulary in Spanish–English bilingual toddlers

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
NEREYDA HURTADO ◽  
THERES GRÜTER ◽  
VIRGINIA A. MARCHMAN ◽  
ANNE FERNALD
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
English Bilingual

Research with monolingual children has shown that early efficiency in real-time word recognition predicts later language and cognitive outcomes. In parallel research with young bilingual children, processing ability and vocabulary size are closely related within each language, although not across the two languages. For children in dual-language environments, one source of variation in patterns of language learning is differences in the degree to which they are exposed to each of their languages. In a longitudinal study of Spanish/English bilingual children observed at 30 and 36 months, we asked whether the relative amount of exposure to Spanish vs. English in daily interactions predicts children's relative efficiency in real-time language processing in each language. Moreover, to what extent does early exposure and speed of lexical comprehension predict later expressive and receptive vocabulary outcomes in Spanish vs. English? Results suggest that processing skill and language experience each promote vocabulary development, but also that experience with a particular language provides opportunities for practice in real-time comprehension in that language, sharpening processing skills that are critical for learning.

Archi

2021 ◽  
pp. 279-316
Author(s):  
Marina Chumakina
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
The Other ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Language Endangerment ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Complement Clauses ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
The One

The chapter provides a description of Archi, a Lezgic language of the Nakh-Daghestanian family spoken in one village in the highlands of Daghestan. First, the current sociolinguistic situation delivers a view of the language endangerment risks, then the chapter gives an overview of Archi phonological system and discusses the morphosyntactic properties of Archi nouns, pronouns, and minor lexical classes. Next, the article gives an overview of the Archi verb morphosyntax. The chapter then discusses the structure of the simple clause covering such topics as word order, finiteness, valency classes, negation, and agreement, among others. Complex sentences (clause chaining and converbs, relative clauses, complement clauses, adverbial clauses, and long-distance anaphora) are discussed. The chapter closes with outstanding issues that require further research. Whenever possible, the chapter views Archi against the general background of Nakh-Daghestanian languages and discusses the similarities and differences. Due to its unusual history (a Lezgic language which lost the contact with other languages of the group very early on and developed with Lak and Avar as its immediate neighbors), Archi has preserved some archaic phonological as well as morphosyntactic features of Lezgic on the one hand and shows the results of the contact with non-Lezgic languages on the other.

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