Language Disorders and Linguistic Theory What the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Disorders (2005) H. Seymour, T. Roeper, and J/deVilliers

Wh-Question Comprehension: Testing Procedure Example of Questions involving VARIABLES

This girl played different things in different ways. She played the drums with her feet and the piano with her hands. How did the girl play what? c. The Psychological Corporation

This father and this baby were having lunch together. Who ate what? c. The Psychological Corporation

Typical Answers to double WH questions PAIRED, EXHAUSTIVE responses –Ex. She played the piano with her hands and the drums with her feet. SINGLETONS (Incorrect) –One element: “piano” “with her feet” –Both objects, no instruments: “piano and drums” –One pair: “the piano with her hands.” OTHER –“She played a lot.” “She was playing.”

Double-WH Example Responses from field testing CHILD A (12663) Feet and her hands CHILD B (18221) She played the piano with her hands and the drums with her feet. Instruments only 0 points Paired and exhaustive 1 point

Double-WH Example 2 CHILD A (12663) Banana and a apple CHILD B (18221) The dad ate the apple, the baby ate the nana. Objects only 0 points Paired and exhaustive 1 point

Double-WH Responses by Age and Language Status

Double-WH Responses by Age and Dialect

Item Type 2: Long Distance Movement with False Embedded Clause (False Clause) (on next slide)

This mother snuck out one night when her little girl was asleep and bought a surprise birthday cake. The next day the little girl saw the bag from the store and asked, “What did you buy?” The mom wanted to keep the surprise until later so she said, “ Just some paper towels.” -- What did the mom say she bought? c. The Psychological Corporation

Typical Answers to “False Clause” questions LONG DISTANCE (LD) TWO CLAUSE responses –Ex. She said she bought paper towels. ONE CLAUSE responses (Incorrect) –Ex. (She bought) a birthday cake. OTHER –“a surprise” “a bag” “I don’t know.”

WH-False Clause Example Responses from field testing CHILD A (12663) A cake CHILD B (18221) Paper towels 1 clause answer 0 points 2-clause answer (long distance) 1 point

LD False Clause Response Types by Age and Language Status

Item Type 3 Barrier to Long Distance Movement Note: Children’s ability to give LD answers (without embedded false clause) was tested in piloting and then in the DSLT Tryout testing. 90% of the children ages 4-6 and 95% of the children 7-10 gave at least one Long Distance answer, so for reasons of time, simple Long Distance items do not appear on the DELV.

This mom didn’t know how to bake a cake. She saw a TV program about cooking, and she learned to make a lovely cake with pudding mix. -- How did the mom learn what to bake? c. The Psychological Corporation

Typical Answers toWH-barriers questions SHORT DISTANCE responses –(How did she learn…?) By watching TV.. MEDIAL ANSWERS (Incorrect) –(…what to bake?) “a cake” LONG DISTANCE responses (Incorrect) –(How…..bake?) “With a pudding mix,” “With a spoon” OTHER –Ex. “She didn’t know how.”

WH-barrier Example Responses How did she learn what to bake? CHILD A (12663) A cake CHILD B (18221) The TV teached her. Medial 0 points Short Distance 1 point

WH-barrier Example Responses 2 Who did she ask what to buy? CHILD A (12663) bologna CHILD B (18221) The grocery store lady Medial 0 points Short Distance 1 point

WH Barrier Response Types by Age and Language Status

WH Barrier Responses by Age and Dialect

Other WH Example Responses CHILD A (12663) 2 correct barriers, 2 barrier violations 1 other CHILD B (18221) 4 correct barriers 1 medial 2 points (of 5) Total:4 of 14 4 points (of 5) Total: 12 of 14

Simple PASSIVES Does the child distinguish these two sentences? Ex. Someone pushed the elephant. The elephant was pushed. Must choose PASSIVE over ACTIVE or NEUTRAL foil.

Simple Passive Example

Simple PASSIVES

COMPLEX Passives Does the child distinguish these two sentences? Ex. The boy’s face was painted. The boy’s face was being painted. Must distinguish BETWEEN TWO PASSIVES.

Complex Passive Example

COMPLEX Passives

BY-PHRASE (non)-Passives Does the child distinguish these two sentences? Ex. The plant was droppED by John. The plant was droppING by John. Must REJECT the passive when ED does not accompany the “be” auxiliary.

Non-passive “ing” example

Passive Overall

Sample children’s responses CHILD A (12663) Simple passives 2 of 4 Complex: 1 of 4 Locative by-phrases –1 of 2 (doesn’t show mastery) 4 of 10 (chose 5 active foils) (lowest 30% of 5-year-olds) CHILD B (18221) Simple passives 3 of 4 Complex: 2 of 4 Locative by-phrases –2 of 2 7 of 10 (top 70% of 4’s)

Who are these children? CHILD A (12663) 5 years old White Female From South Parents w/ HS education Mainstream English speaker Not receiving speech or language services CHILD B (18221) 4 years old African American boy From “north Central” US Parents w/ HS education “Some difference” from MAE” Not receiving speech or language services

ARTICLES: Making DISCOURSE CONNECTIONS Example Article Prompt: A bird flew out of a cage because something was open? What was it? THE door (not A door) Has the child learned to interpret articles as reference to context? (Although the “door” was not explicitly mentioned, it is a PART of the cage and “inherits” its definite reference (the) from the mention of the cage.) Is the child sensitive to that relationship?

Use of Articles “a” and “the” Types of a and the in the DELV Condition LabelDescription Part-the:part of a previously mentioned object Familiar-the:previously mentioned object Specific-a:referent known to speaker only Non-referential-a: non-referential, but assumed in situation Predicational-a:nominal following have

Subtle demands on child’s syntax and semantics Articles differ cross-linguistically, need careful exposure –Cf. Spanish use “the hat” for specific and non-specific; Chinese “hat” is specific and non-specific; –English is a MIXED system -- “the hat” is specific and known; “a hat” non-specific Essentially the same in AAE and MAE –Engages context, presupposition and general knowledge Need to test WITHOUT PICTURE STIMULI –Which can change conditions on presuppositions, known and new

Examples of eliciting questions Part-the: Sally was going to eat a banana, but first she had to take something off it. What did she take off it? (THE peel) Familiar-the: A cat and a bird were sitting in a tree. They were friends. One of them flew out of the tree. Guess which. (THE bird) Specific-a: I'll bet you have something hanging on the wall of your room at home. What is it? (A picture) Non-referential-a: Fred wants to take his teddy bear, his favorite game, and his soccer ball over to his cousin’s house when he goes to visit. What can he put them all in? (A bag) Predicational-a: Think of a baseball player. Can you imagine what one looks like? What does he have? (A glove)

Types of Article Errors Using “a” for “the” (8 times more common than “the” for “a”) Bare Singular (“fly kite”) Irrelevant responses (“My sister has one.” “The man in the moon.”) (when children say “my doll” or “some games,” they are re-prompted with “anything else?”)

Development of correct article use in typically developing and language impaired children

Development of correct article use in MAE and AAE speaking children.

Conclusions We have shown that the assessment of complex aspects of children’s syntactic development between the ages of 4 and 9 can be carried out in a dialect neutral fashion. These materials and procedures capture the development of several aspects of language that are vital for success in early schooling and the transition to literacy. They provide the clinician with a substantial profile of the child language strengths and weaknesses, not just a diagnostic categorization. As such they provide a much richer evaluation of language variation and its sources that has direct implications for areas and methods of intervention.