KUKU

KU ScholarWorks

  • myKU
  • Email
  • Enroll & Pay
  • KU Directory
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   KU ScholarWorks
    • Dissertations and Theses
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   KU ScholarWorks
    • Dissertations and Theses
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Effects of Verb Familiarity on Finiteness Marking in Children with SLI

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Abel_ku_0099D_12402_DATA_1.pdf (693.8Kb)
    Issue Date
    2012-08-31
    Author
    Abel, Alyson D.
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    87 pages
    Type
    Dissertation
    Degree Level
    Ph.D.
    Discipline
    Child Language
    Rights
    This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Children must acquire multiple language dimensions to ultimately achieve adult levels of language competence. Two such language dimensions, finiteness marking and the verb lexicon, are considered areas of weakness in specific language impairment (SLI). Given these weaknesses, the question arises of whether these two dimensions are related in children with SLI and/or typically developing children. One way to examine this question is to assess the hypothesis that verb familiarity influences finiteness marking accuracy. A sentence imitation task was developed to examine this hypothesis. In sentence imitation tasks, a child is asked to repeat a sentence verbatim. Sentence imitation has been proposed as an index of children's generative use of grammar (Child Grammar Account). An alternative proposal is that sentence imitation measures verbal memory instead of language ability (Verbal Memory Account). The sentence imitation task employed in the current study allowed estimates of finiteness marking and the verb lexicon while examining whether verb familiarity influences finiteness marking. Imitations were coded and analyzed for overall sentence accuracy and deviations from the target sentence in individual clausal components (i.e., finiteness marking and the verb root). The coding system designed for this study also set up a comparison of the two proposed accounts of sentence imitation. Three groups of children completed the sentence imitation task: 20 children with SLI (5-years old), 23 age-equivalent control children (AE; 5-years old) and 16 language-equivalent control children (LE; 3-years old). The AE group was more accurate than each of the SLI and LE groups (who performed similarly) on overall sentence imitation accuracy, finiteness marking accuracy and verb root imitation accuracy. Familiar verbs conferred an advantage on overall sentence imitation, finiteness marking and verb root imitation accuracy as well. Results also reported group x condition interactions for finiteness marking and verb root imitation. Patterns of deviations from the target sentence support the Child Grammar Account of sentence imitation, but not the Verbal Memory Account. Overall, study findings are consistent with expectations based on the literature and support the proposal that verb familiarity affects finiteness marking.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/10840
    Collections
    • Dissertations [4475]
    • Linguistics Dissertations and Theses [95]

    Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.


    We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.


    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

    Browse

    All of KU ScholarWorksCommunities & CollectionsThis Collection

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

    The University of Kansas
      Contact KU ScholarWorks
    Lawrence, KS | Maps
     
    • Academics
    • Admission
    • Alumni
    • Athletics
    • Campuses
    • Giving
    • Jobs

    The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 W. Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS, 66045, (785)864-6414, 711 TTY.

     Contact KU
    Lawrence, KS | Maps