Hearing & Speech Sciences Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2776
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Item AN ANALYSIS OF CODE SWITCHING EVENTS IN TYPICALLY DEVELOPING SPANISH-ENGLISH BILINGUAL CHILDREN(2020) Guevara, Sandra Stephanie; Ratner, Nan; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Code-switching (CS) patterns were investigated in language samples of 14 typically-developing Spanish-English bilingual preschool-aged children. CS occurred primarily when the children spoke in Spanish. We investigated code-switched events, vocabulary measures, and disfluencies to better understand if children utilize code-switching to fill in lexical gaps in Spanish, as measured by disfluencies surrounding the code-switch. Results indicate that children’s spoken vocabulary diversity is not related to code-switching frequency, although their receptive vocabulary skills are negatively correlated to proportions of code-switched events. We also found no significant relationship between code-switched events and disfluencies across participants. Findings suggest clinical implications related to best practice for speech-language pathologists when working with bilingual children, as they observe language attrition, and code-switching related to language proficiency and dominance.Item An Examination of the Relationship Between Prior Musical Sophistication and Language Outcomes in People With Aphasia(2018) Fisher, Sarah J.; Faroqi-Shah, Yasmeen; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research suggests there is a neural relationship between music and language, such that higher levels of musical sophistication may be positively correlated with a person’s linguistic and cognitive functioning. Though most of the research has focused on neurotypical individuals, the implication is that musical sophistication could benefit a person with a neurological impairment such as aphasia, perhaps by preserving linguistic abilities after the person has sustained a stroke. The study outlined here seeks to replicate and expand on the findings of Faroqi-Shah et al. (in prep) by looking at musical sophistication’s influence on aphasia severity as well as on specific language and cognitive domains (e.g., syntax, auditory processing, memory, and cognitive control). Knowing what specific domains of language or cognition are involved could help researchers better understand the neural location of musical and linguistic resources as well as the behavioral benefit of increased reserve in a neurologically impaired individual.Item Effects of Statistical Learning on the Acquisition of Grammatical Categories through Qur'anic Memorization: A Natural Experiment(2013) Zuhurudeen, Fathima Manaar; Huang, Yi Ting; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated the effects of ambient exposure to Arabic through Qur'anic memorization versus formal classroom exposure to Arabic on the ability to acquire knowledge of Arabic grammatical categories. To do this, we exposed participants to a 5-minute familiarization language of Arabic phrases. Then, we measured accuracy on a two-alternative forced choice grammatical judgment task, which required participants to identify a grammatical phrase based on rules that followed the statistical properties of items in the familiarization language. We compared results of this task with those of language background surveys, and found that memorizers were more accurate than non-memorizers in distinguishing between novel grammatical phrases and ungrammatical phrases. While classroom experience had no effect on accuracy, naïve listeners also experienced statistical learning. Thus, semantic representations are not required to abstract rules of Arabic grammar. We discuss possible explanations for these findings and implications for language acquisition.Item The Development of Syntactic Complexity and the Irregular Past Tense in Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter(2009) Bauman, Jessica; Ratner, Nan B; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study examined spontaneous language samples and standardized test data obtained from 31 pairs of children who stutter (CWS), ages 25-59 months, and age-matched children who do not stutter (CWNS). Developmental Sentence Scores (DSS; Lee, 1974) as well as the relationships among age, DSS, and other standardized test scores were compared for both groups. No substantial differences were found between groups in the syntactic complexity of spontaneous language; however, the two groups show different relationships between age and DSS and between test scores and DSS. Additionally, observed differences between CWS and CWNS in patterns of past-tense errors and usage are discussed in light of a recent theoretical model of language performance in populations with suspected basal ganglia involvement (Ullman, 2004).Item A Voxel Based Approach to Identifying Lesion Sites in Aphasia: Comprehension and Production Deficits in Syntax, Semantics and Phonology(2007-08-20) Kling, Therese Danielle; Shah, Yasmeen; Braun, Allen; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The cortical regions of the brain traditionally associated with deficits of production and comprehension in language are Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Recent evidence suggests that other brain regions are involved and may be specific to linguistic areas of syntax, semantics and phonology. This paper describes the MRI results and language scores of 31 left hemisphere stroke patients with aphasia. Patients' lesions obtained from these MRI scans were reconstructed onto templates and entered into a voxel-based analysis program called Analysis of Brain lesion (ABLe) (Solomon, Raymont, Braun, Butman & Grafman, 2007) along with language scores. The results provided evidence for five key neuroanatomical regions of interest. These include the insula, the planum temporale, the operculum, the temporoparietal occipital (TPO) junction and the putamen. The results revealed common as well as unique areas of brain lesion for each of the behaviors.