Language disorder
Encyclopedia
Language disorders or language impairments are disorders that involve the processing of linguistic information. Problems that may be experienced can involve grammar
(syntax
and/or morphology
), semantics
(meaning), or other aspects of language. These problems may be receptive (involving impaired language comprehension), expressive (involving language production), or a combination of both. Examples include specific language impairment
and aphasia
, among others. Language disorders can affect both spoken and written language, and can also affect sign language
; typically, all forms of language will be impaired.
Note that these are distinct from speech disorders, which involve difficulty with the act of speech production, but not with language.
to dream speech
and schizophasia.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
(syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
and/or morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
), semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
(meaning), or other aspects of language. These problems may be receptive (involving impaired language comprehension), expressive (involving language production), or a combination of both. Examples include specific language impairment
Specific language impairment
Specific language impairment is diagnosed when a child's language does not develop normally and the difficulties cannot be accounted for by generally slow development , physical abnormality of the speech apparatus, autistic disorder, acquired brain damage or hearing loss.-Overview:Specific...
and aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
, among others. Language disorders can affect both spoken and written language, and can also affect sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
; typically, all forms of language will be impaired.
Note that these are distinct from speech disorders, which involve difficulty with the act of speech production, but not with language.
Psychopathology of language
A special class of language disorders is studied by the psychopathology of language. Its topics of interest range from simple speech errorSpeech error
Speech errors, commonly referred to as slips of the tongue , are conscious or unconscious deviations from the apparently intended form of an utterance. They can be subdivided into spontaneously and inadvertently produced speech errors and intentionally produced word-plays or puns...
to dream speech
Dream speech
In 1906 the famous German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin published a monograph titled Über Sprachstörungen im Traume . In his psychiatry textbook Kraepelin used the shortcut Traumsprache to denote language disturbances occurring in dreams...
and schizophasia.
See also
- AphasiaAphasiaAphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
- Auditory Processing DisorderAuditory processing disorderAuditory Processing Disorder , also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder is an umbrella term for a variety of disorders that affect the way the brain processes auditory information. It is not a peripheral hearing disorder as individuals with APD usually have normal peripheral hearing...
- Broca's areaBroca's areaBroca's area is a region of the hominid brain with functions linked to speech production.The production of language has been linked to the Broca’s area since Pierre Paul Broca reported impairments in two patients. They had lost the ability to speak after injury to the posterior inferior frontal...
- DyslexiaDyslexiaDyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
- Semantic pragmatic disorderSemantic Pragmatic DisorderPragmatic language impairment is an impairment in understanding pragmatic areas of language. This type of impairment was previously called semantic-pragmatic disorder . Pragmatic language impairments are related to autism and Asperger syndrome, but also could be related to other non autistic...
- Specific language impairmentSpecific language impairmentSpecific language impairment is diagnosed when a child's language does not develop normally and the difficulties cannot be accounted for by generally slow development , physical abnormality of the speech apparatus, autistic disorder, acquired brain damage or hearing loss.-Overview:Specific...
- Speech and language pathology in school settings
- Speech repetitionSpeech repetitionthumb|250px|right|[[Children]] copy with their own [[mouth]]s the words spoken by the mouths of those around them. This enables them to learn the [[pronunciation]] of words not already in their [[vocabulary]]....
- Communication disorderCommunication disorderA communication disorder is a speech and language disorder which refers to problems in communication and in related areas such as oral motor function. The delays and disorders can range from simple sound substitution to the inability to understand or use language...
Further reading
- A neuropsychological approach to language disorders http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/teaching/C8517/teach.html
- A Psycholinguistic Approach to the Classification, Evaluation and Remediation of Language Disorder, by Ondene van Dulm http://academic.sun.ac.za/linguist/spil/articles/SPIL34-OvD-artikel.pdf
- Connectionist networks and language disorders, by Steven L. Small — 1994 — Journal of Communication Disorders http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.91.1123