Multilingual Aspects Of Signed Language Communication And Disorder

Inquiry into signed languages has added to what is known about structural variation and language, language learning, and cognitive processing of language. However, comparatively little research has focused on communication disorders in signed language users. For some deaf children, atypicality is viewed as a phase that they will outgrow, and this results in late identification of linguistic or cognitive deficits that might have been addressed earlier. This volume takes a step towards describing different types of atypicality in language communicated in the signed modality such as linguistic impairment caused by deficits in visual processing, difficulties with motor movements, and neurological decline. Chapters within the book also consider communication differences in hearing children acquiring signed and spoken languages.

Multilingual Aspects of Speech Sound Disorders in Children translates research into clinical practice for speech-language pathologists working with children. The book explores both multilingual and multicultural aspects of children with speech sound disorders. The 30 theoretical and clinical chapters have been written by 44 authors from 16 different countries about 112 languages and dialects.

This book contains contributions by scholars working on diverse aspects of speech who bring their findings to bear on the practical issue of how to treat stuttering in different language groups and in multilingual speakers. The book considers classic issues in speech production research, as well as whether regions of the brain that are affected in people who stutter relate to areas used intensively in fluent bilingual speech. It then reviews how formal language properties and differential use of parts of language affect stuttering in English, and then compares these findings to work on stuttering in a variety of languages. Finally, the book addresses methodological issues to do with studies on bilingualism and stuttering; and discusses which approach is appropriate in the treatment of bilingual and multilingual people who stutter.

This volume presents a broad overview of current research and thought on aphasia in individuals who speak more than one language. The range of topics covered, and their in-depth treatment, should be of interest to researchers, clinicians, and students.

During the last years a significant number of papers, books, and monographs devoted to speech and language impairments in bilingual children have been published. Different aspects and questions have been approached and today we have a relatively good understanding of the specific characteristics of the speech and language difficulties potentially observed in bilingual and multilingual children. This interest has been significantly resulted from the potential developmental and educational consequences of bilingualism. Our understanding of the communication disorders in adult populations is notoriously more limited, even though over 50% of the adult population can speak at least another language in addition to his/her native language. That simply means that over 50% of the communication disorders observed in adults are bilingual speech and language disorders: bilingual aphasias, bilingual dementias, bilingual stuttering, etc. This book was written with the specific purpose of filling this gap. The major purpose of this book has been to integrate the state of the art on the different aspects of the communication disorders observed in adult bilinguals. The book is organised in such a way that an integrated perspective of bilingualism is presented: from the normal conditions to the pathology; from the clinical descriptions to the rehabilitation issues; from the biological factors to the cultural variables.

This book investigates language disorders in children who speak languages other than, or in addition to, English. The chapters in the first section of the volume focus on language disorders associated with four different syndromes in multilingual populations and contexts. This section discusses language disorders associated with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome and Williams syndrome. The chapters in the second section of the book relate to language impairment in children who speak diverse languages, although the issues they address are relevant across languages and cultural contexts. The book also reviews assessment procedures and intervention approaches for diverse languages, including Bengali, Cantonese, French, Spanish, and Turkish. The volume aims to stimulate thoughtful clinical practice and further research in language disorders in multilingual populations.

Research Methods in Sign Language Studies is a landmark work on sign language research, which spans the fields of linguistics, experimental and developmental psychology, brain research, and language assessment. Examines a broad range of topics, including ethical and political issues, key methodologies, and the collection of linguistic, cognitive, neuroscientific, and neuropsychological data Provides tips and recommendations to improve research quality at all levels and encourages readers to approach the field from the perspective of diversity rather than disability Incorporates research on sign languages from Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa Brings together top researchers on the subject from around the world, including many who are themselves deaf

This volume has arisen from a three-part, five-year study on language contact among multilingual sign language users, which has three strands: cross-signing, sign-switching, and sign-speaking. These phenomena are only sparsely documented so far, and thus the volume is highly innovative and presents data and analyses not previously available.