University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Restructuring of language from impoverished input: Evidence for linguistic compensation

Singleton, Jenny L.

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Description

Title
Restructuring of language from impoverished input: Evidence for linguistic compensation
Author(s)
Singleton, Jenny L.
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Newport, Elissa L.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Social Work
  • Psychology, Developmental
Language
eng
Abstract
  • This study investigates the effects of impoverished input upon a child's language development. Previous literature suggests that when children are exposed to inadequate input they demonstrate robust capabilities of linguistic compensation.
  • Simon (age 9) is a profoundly deaf child, whose only input to American Sign Language (ASL) comes from his late-learner deaf parents. Because the parents are late-learners (Newport & Supalla, 1987), their competence in ASL is limited. Simon's performance on two ASL structures--sign order and verb inflection--is compared to his parents' to determine whether, and how, linguistic compensation occurs.
  • The analyses reveal that Simon's linguistic output is far better structured than his input. Simon's parents display a more inconsistent output, showing only narrow patterns, with some ASL forms omitted altogether. In contrast, Simon displays broad, regular, and systematic patterns, using the same forms as his parents, yet in very different ways.
  • Possible mechanisms by which Simon may be achieving this highly structured system are explored. Finally, features of a proposed reanalysis model are discussed. Simon's linguistic outcome suggests that he performs sophisticated global linguistic analyses of his input, with the end result being a meaningful, integrated system.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21200
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1989 Singleton, Jenny L.

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