The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree

Abu Bakar, NoroSofiah, Smith, Guiditta, Razak, Rogayah A. and Garraffa, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1767-424X (2022) The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. ISSN 1664-1078

Preview

PDF (fpsyg-13-948992) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This study is an investigation of both comprehension and production of Wh- questions in Malay-speaking children with a developmental language disorder (DLD). A total of 15 Malay children with DLD (ages 7;0–9;11 years) were tested on a set of Wh- questions (who subject and object, which subject and object), comparing their performance with two control groups [15 age-matched typically developing (TD) children and 15 younger TD language-matched children]. Malay children with DLD showed a clear asymmetry in comprehension of Wh- questions, with a selective impairment for which NP questions compared with who questions. Age-matched controls performed at ceiling in all Wh- questions, while the language-matched group reported a subject/object asymmetry selective for the which NP, as reported in other languages. In production, both children with DLD and younger children showed a preference for questions with in situ Wh- elements, a structure that is allowed in colloquial Malay, but which is not produced by the age-matched TD group. Several non-adult-like strategies were adopted particularly by the children with DLD to avoid complex sentences, including substitution with yes/no echo questions, production of the wrong Wh- question, and use of a generic Wh- element. The study provides an insight on the mastery of Wh- questions in both typical Malay children and children with DLD. Implications for the definition of a clinical marker for DLD in a free word order language with Wh- in situ option will be discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding information: Research University Grant (GUP) (code: UKM-GUP-2011-134) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and research grant PHUMANITI 6315272 from Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	04 Nov 2022 16:30
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 03:28
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/89623
DOI:	10.3389/fpsyg.2022.948992

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item