Two studies are reported in which the following theory is tested: the agrammatic sentence form that is observed in the spontaneous speech of Broca's aphasics is attributable to the selection of elliptical syntactic structures in which the slots for many of the closed-class words that appear in complete sentences are lacking. (54 references)…

Notes that in linguistic theory, phenomena previously handled by a separate grammatical component have been moved into the lexicon and that in some theories, the contrast between grammar and the lexicon has vanished. Concludes that the case for a modular distinction between grammar and the lexicon has been overstated and that the evidence to date…

This article presents an approach to a variety of syndromes and patterns of language disorders in bilingual speakers and polyglots. This framework demands that in neuropsychological analysis, all the variables and dynamics of bilingual development have to be taken into consideration, along with details of the neurological syndrome. (Contains…

Reading and writing deficits in two multilingual speakers of Kannada, Hindi and English are described. Disorders of the two patients (Mr G and Ms S) had different etiologies. Mr G had severe alexia with agraphia in English as well as in Kannada and Hindi. Ms S exhibited dissociation across the languages, showing symptoms of surface dyslexia in…

Aphasia implies the loss or impairment of language caused by brain damage. The key to understanding the nature of aphasic symptoms is the neuro-anatomical site of brain damage, and not the causative agent. However, because "Herpes simplex" virus (HSV) encephalitis infection usually affects the frontal and temporal lobes, subcortical…

This book provides an overview of the causes and symptoms, and the typical courses, treatments, and outcomes of neurogenic communication disorders. Chapter 1 reviews the human nervous system and neurologic causes of adult communication disorders. Chapter 2 discusses the neurologic assessment and arriving at a diagnosis, including the neurologist's…

Vertical and lateral integration are two important nervous system integrations that affect the development of oral behaviors. There are three progressions in the vertical integration process for speech nervous system development: R-complex speech (ritualistic, memorized expressions), limbic speech (emotional expressions), and cortical speech…

Eighteen people (with ages ranging from 7 to 22 years) who had been diagnosed as aphasic 10 years previously were assessed in terms of current functioning to test the hypothesis that, since the subjects had a specific language disorder, other areas of adaptive development should be relatively spared, and communication scores should be…

The evaluation of 'deviant articulation' (that of young children, speech defective persons, aphasics, second-language learners) has usually consisted of two activities: transcription of the speech being evaluated, and comparison of the transcription against some 'standard' set of 'target' sounds. Any transcription is a description of a speaker's…

Studies have indicated that agrammatical aphasics tend to better realize morphemes with a high level of semantic value. A study sought to examine the effect of the variation of the information content of the article on its comprehension by the aphasic. The appropriate and the significant nature of the function words "the" and "a" were varied with…

Language disorders in children are one of the most frequent causes of difficulties in communication, social interaction, learning and academic achievement. It has been estimated that over 5% of children present with some kind of language disorder. This volume illustrates the state of the art in neurogenic language disorders in children. The most…

The functional architecture of the verbal processing resource system was studied by testing aphasic patients in Canada and Boston for their abilities to use syntactic structure in sentence comprehension in isolation and under dual-task conditions. Results indicate that the processing resource system underlying syntactic processing is separate from…

Compares speech-related (coverbal) gestures in brain-damaged patients (aphasics and visuo-spatial deficits) and in matched controls. Results suggest ideational gestures probably facilitate word retrieval and reflect transfer of information between propositional and non-propositional representations during message construction, and that conceptual…

Spoken narratives as a genre usually show literary stylistic features. Written/literary registers are characterized by lexical density whereas spoken/colloquial genres are characterized by the complex combination of simple clauses into clause complexes. It has been observed that when aiming at informationally dense speech, people often hesitate…

This book examines how the brain enables people to speak creatively and build up an understanding of language. The discussion looks at the linguistic and neuro-anatomical underpinnings of language and considers how language skills can systematically break down in individuals with different types of brain damage. By studying children with language…