Language Impairment and Generative Analysis

Abstract

This article deals with different types of language impairment from the perspective of generative grammar. The paper focuses on syntactic deficiencies observed in aphasic and SLI (specific language impairment) patients. We show that the observed ungrammatical structures do not appear in a random fashion but can be predicted by that theory of universal sentence structure which posits a strict hierarchy of its constituent parts. The article shows that while the hierarchically lower elements remain unaffected, the higher positions in the hierarchy show various degrees of syntactic impairment. The paper supports the implementation of recent developments in the field of generative grammar with the intention of encouraging further theoretical, experimental and therapeutic research in the field.

Keywords

• specific language impairment
• generative grammar
• syntax