The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree
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 o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.948992/full |
| _version_ | 1811257298136334336 |
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| author | Norsofiah Abu Bakar Giuditta Smith Rogayah A. Razak Maria Garraffa |
| author_facet | Norsofiah Abu Bakar Giuditta Smith Rogayah A. Razak Maria Garraffa |
| author_sort | Norsofiah Abu Bakar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:55:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02b83a7dfebd43fe8a98e44a0b11bab7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:55:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-02b83a7dfebd43fe8a98e44a0b11bab72022-12-22T03:22:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-10-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.948992948992The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic treeNorsofiah Abu Bakar0Giuditta Smith1Rogayah A. Razak2Maria Garraffa3School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, MalaysiaFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United KingdomDepartment of Education, Faculty of Social Science & Liberal Arts, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United KingdomThis 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.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.948992/fullMalayDLDWh- questionsclinical markerswhich-questionssubject/object asymmetry |
| spellingShingle | Norsofiah Abu Bakar Giuditta Smith Rogayah A. Razak Maria Garraffa The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree Frontiers in Psychology Malay DLD Wh- questions clinical markers which-questions subject/object asymmetry |
| title | The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree |
| title_full | The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree |
| title_fullStr | The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree |
| title_full_unstemmed | The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree |
| title_short | The comprehension and production of Wh- questions among Malay children with developmental language disorders: Climbing the syntactic tree |
| title_sort | comprehension and production of wh questions among malay children with developmental language disorders climbing the syntactic tree |
| topic | Malay DLD Wh- questions clinical markers which-questions subject/object asymmetry |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.948992/full |
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