This investigation reports on the linguistic and communicative abilities of a deaf child whose initial exposure to conventional linguistic input occurred at the age of 10. At the time of data collection, the participant had been exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) for three years. Information concerning the participant's background, language and communication abilities was collected through caregiver interviews. Language samples were gathered through storybook and video retelling tasks and spontaneous conversations. Samples were videotaped, and later transcribed by a native deaf signer of ASL. Analyses of the participant's lexical, morphological, syntactic, and pragmatic skills were performed. Results showed deficits across linguistic subsystems. Comparisons to native language learners of ASL and late first-language learners of spoken and signed languages revealed both typical and unique characteristics of late language acquisition. The results contradict past theoretical claims concerning the selective impact of language deprivation on the faculty of grammar. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.78374 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Hargraves, Lisa |
| Contributors | Mayberry, Rachel I. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (School of Communication Sciences and Disorders.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001976388, proquestno: AAIMQ88209, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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