Grammatical comprehension in Spanish-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI)

The Grammatical Structures Comprehension Test (CEG) was used to analyze grammatical comprehension problems in native Spanish-speaking children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The test is divided into 20 blocks containing the most common grammatical structures in Spanish. Our objective was to establish whether the CEG was sensitive in detecting these problems and whether there were differential patterns in grammatical comprehension between children with SLI (14 participants) and two control groups: a chronological control group (CC) with 14 participants and a linguistic control group (LC) also with 14 participants. We found significant differences between the SLI group and the chronological control participants (Box’s M = 63.080, F = 1, 159, p = .238), with a correct classification rate of 85.7 % in the discriminant function analysis. These differences did not occur in all the blocks, in which we identified a range of different performance patterns that varied according to the structures being analyzed. This work helps to clarify certain questions about grammatical comprehension in children with SLI and contributes to the debate on delay vs. «delay within the delay» (AU)

No disponible

Grammatical Comprehension in Spanish-speaking children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).

The Grammatical Structures Comprehension Test (CEG) was used to analyze grammatical comprehension problems in native Spanish-speaking children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The test is divided into 20 blocks containing the most common grammatical structures in Spanish. Our objective was to establish whether the CEG was sensitive in detecting these problems and whether there were differential patterns in grammatical comprehension between children with SLI (14 participants) and two control groups: a chronological control group (CC) with 14 participants and a linguistic control group (LC) also with 14 participants. We found significant differences between the SLI group and the chronological control participants (Box's M = 63.080, F = 1, 159, p = .238), with a correct classification rate of 85.7 % in the discriminant function analysis. These differences did not occur in all the blocks, in which we identified a range of different performance patterns that varied according to the structures being analyzed. This work helps to clarify certain questions about grammatical comprehension in children with SLI and contributes to the debate on delay vs. "delay within the delay".

Morfología verbal: estudio de las irregularizaciones de pseudoverbos en niños españoles / Verbal morphology: study of the irregulatization of novel verbs in spanish children

El objetivo de esta investigación ha sido determinar algunos factores que pueden explicar las inconsistencias encontradas en los modelos y tipos de regularización e irregularización de verbos en español. Hemos generado una relación de pseudoverbos a partir de la manipulación fonológica de doce verbos que hacen irregular el presente de indicativo (seis de alta y seis de baja frecuencia) y se la hemos presentado a los sujetos experimentales (117 niños/as de los cursos escolares comprendidos entre 2º y 6º de educación primaria) para que, ante la presentación de cada pseudoverbo en infinitivo dijeran la primera persona del singular de dicho pseudoverbo (ej., de tember - tembo o tiembo). En general, los resultados que hemos obtenido indican que: a) el número de irregularizaciones disminuye a medida que avanza el curso escolar, b) se emiten más veces como irregulares los verbos de alta que los de baja frecuencia de uso, c) el número de irregularizaciones depende de la proporción entre la frecuencia categorial (type) y la frecuencia de uso (token). Si esta proporción es alta se adopta con mayor probabilidad la forma irregular del pseudoverbo que la forma regular, lo contrario que sucede en el caso de que esta proporción sea baja y d) el número de irregularizaciones depende de la similitud fonológica entre el pseudoverbo y el verbo-origen. Se interpretan los resultados en términos de las demandas de procesamiento que requieren la adopción de las formas regulares e irregulares de pseudoverbos o de verbos desconocidos (AU)