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PubMed2001

Retroactive interference from translation equivalents: implications for first language forgetting.

First language vocabulary is vulnerable to forgetting after massive exposure to a second language. Two possible factors responsible for the forgetting are degree of semantic overlap between concepts in the two languages and amount of second language exposure. In a laboratory simulation of the language forgetting situation, participants received 10 exposures to a list of words in a foreign language, followed by 2, 5, 10, or 15 exposures to a list in a second foreign language. The second list consisted of either translation equivalents or new concepts. Participants were then tested for retention of the first list. More retroactive interference was found for translation equivalents than for new concepts and for higher degrees of exposure to the second list. When retention of the first list was broken down in terms of gains and losses, effects of both similarity of the second list to the first and amount of exposure to the second list were found only for losses--a fact that points to lack of discriminability as one of the underlying causes of forgetting. Overall, the experimental paradigm proved useful for exploring and developing theories about the causes of first language forgetting.

Humans↗

PubMed1994

Asymmetrical cross-language priming effects.

Three experiments were conducted to examine cross-language priming in bilinguals. The first was a cross-language primed lexical decision task experiment with Chinese-English bilinguals. Subjects made lexical decisions about primary associate targets in the two languages at the same rate, but priming occurred only when the prime was in their first language (L1), Chinese, and the target was in their second language (L2), English. Experiment 2 produced the same pattern of asymmetrical priming with two alphabetic languages, French and Dutch. In Experiment 3, the crucial stimuli were translation equivalents. In contrast to the results of Experiments 1 and 2, priming occurred across languages in both the L1-L2 and L2-L1 conditions. However, this priming was also asymmetrical, with more priming occurring in the L1-L2 condition. A tentative separate-interconnected model of bilingual memory is described. It suggests that the representations of words expressed in different languages are stored in separate memory systems, which may be interconnected via one-to-one links between some translation-equivalent representations as well as meaning-integration processes.

China↗

PubMed2000

Aspects of self-concept and their relationship to language performance and verbal reasoning ability.

It has been claimed that self-concept is multidimensional, with dimensions such as mathematical self-concept and self-concept in language. The present study investigated the relationship of academic self-concept in language with performance on school-related language tasks and verbal reasoning ability. A total of 512 students in grades 7, 9, and 11 rated four aspects of their academic self-concept in language: self-perception, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and others' perception of their abilities. Verbal reasoning ability and performance on language tasks were assessed. Path analysis showed that performance on language tasks was influenced strongly by verbal reasoning abilities. Self-esteem and others' perception of one's abilities were affected directly by language performance. No direct relationship was found between academic self-concept in language and verbal reasoning ability. The results suggest that adolescents do not construe their academic self-concept according to their abilities but according to their performance in school and others' response to it.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Incorporating language phenotypes strengthens evidence of linkage to autism.

We investigated the effect of incorporating information about proband and parental structural language phenotypes into linkage analyses in the two regions for which we found the highest signals in our first-stage affected sibling pair genome screen: chromosomes 13q and 7q. We were particularly interested in following up on our chromosome 7q finding in light of two prior reports of linkage of this region to developmental language disorder, since one of the diagnostic criteria for autism is absent or abnormal language development. We hypothesized that if the language phenotype were genetically relevant to linkage at the chromosome 7q locus, then incorporating parents phenotypes would increase the signal at that locus, and most of the signal would originate from the subset of families in which both probands had severe language delay. The results support these hypotheses. The linkage signals we obtained on chromosome 7q as well as at least one signal on chromosome 13q are mainly attributable to the subgroup of families in which both probands had language delay. This became apparent only when the parents' history of language-related difficulties was also incorporated into the analyses. Although based on our data, we were not able to distinguish between epistasis or heterogeneity models, we tentatively concluded that there may be more than one autism susceptibility locus related to language development.

Autistic Disorder↗

PubMed2002

Non-English speakers consulting with the GP in their own language: a cross-sectional survey.

The Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) gives counterintuitive results with patients who normally speak non-English languages at home. The aim of this study was to find out more about why patients speaking languages other than English were more enabled in a shorter time than English-speaking patients. A cross-sectional consultation-based questionnaire survey was conducted of 2052 adult patients speaking languages other than English compared with 23790 English-speaking patients in four contrasting study areas in the UK Highest PEI scores in shortest consultation times were associated with South Asian language-speaking patients consulting in their own language. Multiple regression analysis showed that the language factors had an independent effect. We therefore conclude that these patients derive particular benefit from general practice consultations in their own language. Enablement may have a different meaning for patients speaking languages other than English.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Incorporating language phenotypes strengthens evidence of linkage to autism.

Autistic Disorder↗

PubMed2001

[Perioperative cortical stimulation of language fields under local anesthesia in preparation to excision of tumors of the dominant hemisphere].

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to demonstrate the accuracy of direct cortical stimulation of language areas preparatory to the removal of infiltrating tumors of dominant hemisphere. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From June 1998 to March 2000 we included in our study 15 patients, aged from 30 to 75 years, harboring gliomas (14 high grades and 1 low grade) close to language-specific cortex. All patients had slight inaugural phasic troubles. They underwent craniotomy under local anesthesia for cortical stimulation language mapping, in conjunction with electrocorticography to identify the after-discharge threshold. Stimulation mapping covered the entire macroscopically tumor involved area, extending up to 3 cm away from the margins of the lesion, without searching to identify systematically the language areas. Therefore, the lesion was removed as completely as possible, respecting a security margin of at least 1 cm from the recognized language sites. RESULTS: We identified from 1 to 6 language sites for 14 of our patients, in different locations. A radical removal was achieved for all high grade gliomas, while the low grade was only partially removed. A patient died on the 16th postoperative day from pulmonary embolism; 2 patients deteriorated from peri- or immediate postoperative complications; 9 showed a transient neurological worsening that receded by the 2nd postoperative month, while 3 did not present any postoperative aggravation. At a follow-up of 1 month to 2 years (mean 8 months), 6 patients died and the 9 survivors maintain a good life quality. CONCLUSIONS: Cortical stimulation for language mapping is an accurate technique that allows the surgical morbidity of lesions in proximity to language areas to decrease and become comparable to the surgical morbidity for lesions in non eloquent areas.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Risk factors associated with language development problems in childhood--a literature review.

BACKGROUND: Children with language problems are found to have a higher risk for future academic difficulties and learning disabilities. Conclusions from related literature were in many ways inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: To identify systematically, the existing literature, and factors that influence language development in children. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Databases of scientific literature were screened through the internet for publications that involved factors effecting language development in childhood. Hard copies of related scientific journals were also sought for relevant topics by the authors, making use of reference lists of publications, and citation search. Studies were included if they were published since 1984 and investigated factors that affect language development in children. They were excluded if they were not original research articles. RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included for this review--a case-control study, a cross-sectional study, and thirteen longitudinal studies. Most studies demonstrated that the following factors affect language development--antenatal care, Apgar scores, birth weight, premature delivery, birth order, parental education, environmental factors, gender of the children, and family history with specific language impairment. CONCLUSION: Perinatal/postnatal and environmental factors influence language development. Such factors should be taken into account as confounding factors in further language development studies.

Child↗

PubMed1986

Relations between sensorimotor attainments and development of language comprehension in retarded children.

Although cognitive precursors of language production have received considerable attention, the relationship between cognitive development and language comprehension is still largely unknown. We report here on an investigation into the relationship between sensorimotor attainments and receptive language skills in normal and retarded infants aged 12-26 months. A major goal of this study was to translate some current notions about onset of representational language and its cognitive prerequisites into some clinically useful procedures both for early diagnosis and treatment of disabled infants. The Uzgiris-Hunt ordinal scales and receptive language tests were administered to 32 infants with motor delay and to 15 normal infants matched for chronological age. Comparison of the resulting scores indicated significant differences in favor of the normal infants on the six Uzgiris-Hunt scales and on the receptive language measures. The cognitive profile of the retarded infants was not homogeneous, some sensorimotor areas (object permanence, vocal and gestural imitation, schemes in relation to objects) showing later onset and slower development than others. Evidence for the parallel emergence of representational ability in language and thought was not as strong as stated by Piagetian theorists. No single stage of sensorimotor functioning prerequisite to language comprehension could be discerned, especially in the retarded infants, who showed considerable gaps between the two domains.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1980

On "action language" in psychoanalysis.

The main tenets of action language are summarized in an attempt to discern the direction in which psychoanalysis might go if action language becomes the "new metapsychology." The principal roots of action language are traced to the different linguistic/language and personality-and-culture models of anthropology and to the neobehaviorist currents of academic psychology. The authors' findings support the hypothesis that action language is a form os psychoanalytic behaviorism having idealism, logical positivism, and radical empiricism as its philosophical underpinnings. Its adoption would confound the entire motivational aspect of psychoanalysis. Specifically, the authors suggest that action language falls under the aegis of Wittgenstein's family of language games. When the action language game is said to be brought to a successful resolution, the language game disappears and, supposedly, so do the patient's conflicts.

Humans↗

PubMed1994

Prediction of school outcomes based on early language production and socioeconomic factors.

Early differences in family SES, child language production, and IQ were related to outcomes in early elementary school in the present prospective, 10-year longitudinal study. In a prior study of family interactional variables associated with language learning, major differences in parenting (i.e., time, attention, and talking) were found to be associated with differences in child productive vocabulary between 7 to 36 months of age, and child IQ, favoring higher-SES parents. Lower-SES children were exposed less often than higher-SES children to diverse vocabulary through their parents' attention and talking, and they were prohibited from talking more often. In the current study, 32 children involved in the earlier study were repeatedly assessed between 5 to 10 years of age, while in kindergarten through third grade. Results indicated that SES-related differences in child language prior to school were predictive of subsequent verbal ability, receptive and spoken language, and academic achievement assessed on standardized tests in kindergarten through grade 3. However, none of the predictor variables were related to direct measures of elementary schooling. When combined with a composite SES indicator, early child language production significantly increased the variance accounted for in the prediction of elementary language and academic competencies in each subsequent year in elementary school. Implications are discussed in terms of the stability of performance on language and academic performance measures of children who entered school with different early language learning experiences, and the need to consider early home- and school-based intervention designed to prevent or ameliorate these trends.

Child↗

PubMed1998

Innateness, evolution, and genetics of language.

Our goal in this article is to review a debate over the evolution of language and to suggest some keys to its resolution. We begin with a review of some of the theoretical and empirical evidence for the innateness of language that has caused renewed interest in the evolution of language. In a second section we review some prominent theories of the evolution of language, focusing on the controversy over whether language could have been adapted for some purpose. We argue that for evolutionary studies of language to advance, theorists must make more persuasive arguments for the purpose of language, and, furthermore, linguists must continue to develop a detailed theory of syntax. Finally, we suggest ways that behavioral and population genetics could help to inform studies of the evolution of language.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Functional MR of frontal lobe activation: comparison with Wada language results.

PURPOSE: Our purpose was to determine the utility of functional MR imaging in conjunction with a word-generation paradigm in the assessment of language lateralization. METHODS: Functional MR imaging and Wada testing for language lateralization was performed in patients with complex partial seizures during the performance of word-generation tasks. A language lateralization quotient was calculated from the number of activated pixels in the right and left hemispheres. A language laterality score was derived from the Wada results as the percentage of correct responses during right internal carotid artery injection minus the percentage of correct responses during left internal carotid injection. A correlation coefficient between the functional MR imaging results and the Wada language laterality scores was calculated. RESULTS: In 13 patients, hemispheric dominance based on Wada testing was confirmed by functional MR imaging during silent word generation. The Wada laterality scores varied from 100 to -100 and the functional MR imaging scores varied from 100 to -10. The language lateralization scores determined by functional MR imaging correlated significantly with the language lateralization scores derived from Wada testing. CONCLUSION: Functional MR imaging performed during word generation is an accurate method for lateralizing language function in patients with complex partial epilepsy.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Theoretical influences on research on language development and intervention in individuals with mental retardation.

In this article, we consider the theoretical debates and frameworks that have shaped research on language development and intervention in persons with mental retardation over the past four decades. Our starting point is the nativist theory, which has been espoused most forcefully by Chomsky. We also consider more recent alternatives to the nativist approach, including the social-interactionist and emergentist approaches, which have been developed largely within the field of child language research. We also consider the implications for language development and intervention of the genetic syndrome-based approach to behavioral research advocated by Dykens and others. We briefly review the impact and status of the debates spurred by the nativist approach in research on the course of language development in individuals with mental retardation. In addition, we characterize some of the achievements in language intervention that have been made possible by the debates spurred by nativism and the various alternatives to it. The evidence we consider provides support for all three alternatives to the nativist approach. Moreover, successful interventions appear to embody elements of several of these approaches as well as other theoretical approaches (e.g., behaviorism). We conclude that language intervention must be theoretically eclectic in its approach, with different strategies appropriate for teaching different features of language, at different points in development, and for children displaying different characteristics or learning histories.

Child↗

PubMed1994

Canonical linking rules: forward versus reverse linking in normally developing and specifically language-impaired children.

Canonical linking rules for mapping thematic roles with syntactic functions were studied. Three experiments were undertaken to investigate the nature of productive forward linking (from semantics to syntax) and productive reverse linking (from syntax to semantics). I proposed that reverse linking, in contrast to forward linking, requires more detailed specification of the syntactic structure; that is, a syntactic representation which specifies each particular syntactic frame and all the argument positions within that frame. Six specifically language-impaired children (aged 6;1 to 9;6) were matched on language abilities to 17 younger, normally developing children (language age 3;1 to 6;6). In Experiment 1--forward linking--the children were shown the meaning of a novel verb and had to describe the event using the novel verb. Experiment 2--a comprehension task--required acting out sentences containing the newly learned verbs. In Experiment 3--reverse linking--the children were told a sentence with a novel verb and had to act out its meaning, assigning thematic roles on the basis of the syntactic frame. Group and individual analysis generally revealed no significant differences between the specifically language-impaired children and the language age control children in Experiments 1 and 2, but a significant difference was found for Experiment 3. The normally developing children showed a good use of productive forward and reverse linking. The specifically language-impaired children demonstrated good productive forward linking but were significantly worse at reverse linking. An interpretation of the data, showing differences in the syntactic representation required for forward versus reverse linking, can account for the findings. I propose that a deficit in the area of "government" or "locality" which underlies c-selection and specifies the syntactic relationship between constituents can account for the data from this study and the data from previous investigations of specifically language-impaired children.

Child↗

PubMed1984

Mother-child dialogues: a comparison of normal and language impaired children.

This study explored similarities and differences in the dialogue of mother-child dyads with normal and language impaired children. The dialogue code used in this study assessed the child's ability to participate and sustain dialogue, and the mothers' ability to adjust to their children's level of functioning in discourse. It was found that: Language impaired children are not as skilled as younger normal language learning children of the same language stage in their ability to participate and maintain conversation; and that mothers of both normal and language impaired children adjust their language to meet the needs of their conversational partners. Implications for the language impaired mother-child dyad are discussed.

Child Language↗

PubMed2002

Effects of parental style of interaction on language development in very young severe and profound deaf children.

AIMS: (1) To study the influence of different styles of parent-child interaction in the language development of very young deaf children. (2) To find out if there are differences in parent-child interaction between two groups of very young deaf children following an Aural/Oral or a Bilingual approach to education. METHODS: Subjects were selected from all deaf children in the County of Avon who were under 3 years of age at the time of first assessment, had severe or profound, bilateral, sensorineural hearing loss and no associated medical problems. There were 16 children and families at the start of the project but only 13 completed all the assessments. The Bristol Language Developmental Scales (BLADES) was used to assess both sign and spoken language development. Interaction was studied through analysis of contingency and book-reading applied to selected periods of 3 min from four videorecorded sessions, taken at 3 months intervals for a period of 1 year. RESULTS: From the 13 children studied, only seven presented with some degree of expressive language measurable by the BLADES. Analysis of contingency showed that parents present with higher percentage of both Direct Related Acts and ON then their children Acts (On Acts: where both individuals are involved in the same task). Regarding bookreading, it was observed that parents often attend to child initiatives and acknowledge most of them but they make little effort to expand or use the child's message as topic for further conversation. In the reduced sample of seven children with expressive language, those with better language development had parents with: (a) higher percentage of DR acts; (b) higher percentage of ON acts; (c) higher percentage of appropriate responses to child communicative initiatives. CONCLUSIONS: In this small group language development seems to be facilitated by encouraging child participation and using a more contingent and child centred interaction. No significant differences were found between oral and bilingual families in terms of quality of interaction.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed1995

The bilingual lexicon: implications for studies of language choice.

Lexical gaps in vocabulary development have been acknowledged as a reason for language mixing in young bilingual children. In spite of this, most studies do not take into account whether young bilinguals have the lexical resources to make a choice between their two languages. Inferences are nevertheless still being made about whether or not young bilinguals differentiate between their two languages based on language choice. It is widely believed, however, that young bilinguals do not have the resources to make lexical choices at a pre-syntactic stage of development before age two. A bilingual case study of an infant acquiring Spanish and English from birth to age 1;10 is used to address this issue. Daily diary records and weekly video recordings in the two language contexts are used to construct the child's lexicon and to establish that translation equivalents that make possible language choice are available from the beginning of speech. The results are used to discuss the importance of translation equivalents in the bilingual lexicon for viable interpretations of language choice.

Age Factors↗