Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Danielle Fahey
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Speech, Language, Hearing, & Occupational Sciences
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Aphasia, which is the loss of language commonly caused by stroke, can have several implications on grammar production. Significant research has been conducted on ways in which grammar is affected by aphasia, however, little is known about what these deficits look like for bilinguals with aphasia (BWA). This study examines the similarity of grammar deficits between languages by having Spanish-English BWA participate in a picture identification task. This research aims to explore whether deficits in one language influence performance on the other, as well as identify any patterns of cross-linguistic (i.e., the relation between two languages) influence on grammar processing. Additionally, two theoretical bases of agrammatical deficits will be investigated: representational theory, which believes atypical grammar structures to be most vulnerable, and usage-based theory, which believes grammar structures that are used infrequently and rely more on working memory to be most vulnerable in aphasia. To determine if participants make similar, consistent grammatical errors in both languages, participants will produce a sentence that corresponds to the images, in the order that pictures are provided. Using cognates (i.e., words that share meanings and pronunciations in more than one language), cross-linguistic influences on grammar processing deficits will be identified, shedding light on theoretical bases for agrammatism in BWA. The theories will be tested using typical and atypical sentence structures. Results will be analyzed for errors in verbs, sentence structure and agreement. This task contributes to our understanding of how multiple languages interact in the brains of BWA, filling a critical gap in current research. Results will provide valuable information on the nature of deficits unique to bilingual agrammatism that can be used to develop normative diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols.
Category
Social Sciences
Identifying Cross-Linguistic Language Deficits in Bilinguals with Aphasia Through Picture Identification Task
UC South Ballroom
Aphasia, which is the loss of language commonly caused by stroke, can have several implications on grammar production. Significant research has been conducted on ways in which grammar is affected by aphasia, however, little is known about what these deficits look like for bilinguals with aphasia (BWA). This study examines the similarity of grammar deficits between languages by having Spanish-English BWA participate in a picture identification task. This research aims to explore whether deficits in one language influence performance on the other, as well as identify any patterns of cross-linguistic (i.e., the relation between two languages) influence on grammar processing. Additionally, two theoretical bases of agrammatical deficits will be investigated: representational theory, which believes atypical grammar structures to be most vulnerable, and usage-based theory, which believes grammar structures that are used infrequently and rely more on working memory to be most vulnerable in aphasia. To determine if participants make similar, consistent grammatical errors in both languages, participants will produce a sentence that corresponds to the images, in the order that pictures are provided. Using cognates (i.e., words that share meanings and pronunciations in more than one language), cross-linguistic influences on grammar processing deficits will be identified, shedding light on theoretical bases for agrammatism in BWA. The theories will be tested using typical and atypical sentence structures. Results will be analyzed for errors in verbs, sentence structure and agreement. This task contributes to our understanding of how multiple languages interact in the brains of BWA, filling a critical gap in current research. Results will provide valuable information on the nature of deficits unique to bilingual agrammatism that can be used to develop normative diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols.