ǂA ǂmulti-level approach to the analysis of narrative language in aphasia

Andrea Marini (Author), Sara Andreetta (Author), Silvana Del Tin (Author), Sergio Carlomagno (Author)

Abstract

Several studies have shown that traditional standardised aphasia tests may not be sensitive enough to adequately assess linguistic deficits and recovery patterns in persons with aphasia. As a result, both functional and structural methods for the ana- lysis of connected language samples from people with aphasia have been devised (see Armstrong, 2000; Prins & Bastiaanse, 2004). The present article focuses on our attempt to provide a comprehensive, multi-level procedure for both structural and functional analysis of narrative discourse produced by speakers with brain damage. Accordingly, we will describe a method for analysis of connected language samples elicited on single picture and cartoon story description tasks. This method has proven sensitive in the assessment of language deficits in many neurogenic populations. A comprehensive description of the language production sys- tem, a thorough discussion of the different approaches to discourse analysis in persons with aphasia, and the procedure for the analysis of narrative discourse are detailed. The characteristics of the eliciting stimuli, the procedures for their administration and the transcription of the language samples are carefully explained. The analysis focuses on four main aspects of linguistic processing: productivity, lexical and grammatical pro- cessing, narrative organisation, and informativeness. To further illustrate the analytic procedure, two case reports and an appendix with the analysis of a narrative sample are provided. We will provide direct evidence of the usefulness of the multi-level procedure for discourse analysis for assessing changes in discourse performance of two persons with fluent aphasia, with different aetiologies, that were not captured by tradi- tional standardised aphasia tests. The method of analysis presented in this paper has strong grounds in linguistic and psychological theories of linguistic structure and functioning. It also has the advantage of being both quantitative and functional as it captures selective aspects of linguistic processing, and can provide relevant information about the person's communicative and informative skills.

Keywords

afazija;govorne motnje;nevropsihologija;analiza diskurza;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2011
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UNG - University of Nova Gorica
UDC:	81'234.2
COBISS:	3625467
ISSN:	0268-7038
Views:	3628
Downloads:	1
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary keywords:	afazija;govorne motnje;nevropsihologija;analiza diskurza;
URN:	URN:SI:UNG
Type (COBISS):	Not categorized
Pages:	str. 1372-1392
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ25
Issue:	ǂno. ǂ11
Chronology:	2011
DOI:	10.1080/02687038.2011.584690
ID:	9128525