1. Specific Language impairment – is it so specific? Anne E. Baker University of Amsterdam

2. Overview of this talk Introduction: SLI SLI and … - reading problems - ADHD - bilingualism Future work

3. Collaborators Bilingualism: Elma Blom, N. Çavuş J. de Jong, A. Orgassa, F. Weerman Reading problems: Esther Psarigger, Judith Rispens ADHD: Esther Parigger Thanks to NWO & Marie Curie.

4. What is SLI? SLI refers to pervasive impairment in the development of language - in the absence of other problems such as deafness, autism etc. Grammar is often a problem - in particular Agreement inflection e.g. Janet drive the car. Pragmatics and semantics can also be affected. Phonology

5. non-word repetition (NWR) in the literature more than 90% of SLI children perform poorly on the NWR indicating problems with phonological (sound) processing Reading problems (dyslexia) Approximately 50% of children with SLI diagnosed with developmental dyslexia (McArthur et al. 2000) What is the relationship? SLI and......

6. Results: NWR and dyslexia in SLI (Rispens & Parigger 2008) SLI SLI+DYS TD Only the SLI+DYS is different from TD, p<.001

7. Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? 31% with SLI scored in the (sub)clinical range of the inattention and/or hyperactivity scales (VvGK). Do these children perform differently in language and executive functions? SLI and......

8. Language Problems (Parigger 2007) Semantic problems: Example: Confuses words of similar meaning ‘screw- driver’ for ‘hammer’. Pragmatic problems: Example: Use of terms like ‘he’ or ‘it’ without making clear what talking about. No difference between SLI+ADHD and –ADHD SLI group as whole worse than TD SLI+ADHD worse than SLI-ADHD All SLI worse than TD

9. Measures of executive functioning CANTAB  Inhibition: Stop Signal Task  Attention: Rapid Visual Information Processing  Working Memory: Spatial Working Memory  Shifting Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift

10. Measures of executive functioning CANTAB  Inhibition: Stop Signal Task  Attention: Rapid Visual Information Processing  Working Memory: Spatial Working Memory  Shifting Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift Trend only found: SLI+ADHD worse than SLI-ADHD

11. SLI and bilingualism Bilingual SLI is SLI in both languages. SLI in only one language is by definition not possible But: SLI may have different linguistic manifestations in the two languages How do SLI and bilingualism interact?

12. Research design A cross-linguistic comparison of grammatical morphology - in the same bilingual children - whose two languages are typologically different (Turkish and Dutch) The aims are:  To identify markers of SLI (adjectival and verbal inflection)  To identify markers of (typical) L2 development  To gain insight in the interaction of SLI and L2

13. (1) Example: adjectival inflection (Dutch)  Kijk, twee messen. ‘Look, two knives’  Dat is een groot-ø mes en dit is een klein-ø mes ‘That is a big knife and this is a small knife’  Waar is Kikker? ‘Where is Kikker’  Kikker zit op het grot-e mes ‘Kikker sits on the big knife’

14. Dutch SLI and L2 equivalent to younger TD children Bilingual SLI worse than SLI and L2

15. Example: elicitation (lezen ‘to read’)  VO: Antje leest een boek en Jan leest een krant Antje-subj reads-fin a book-obj  OV: Dit is Antje die een boek leest en dat is Jan die een krant leest This is Antje who a book-obj reads-fin and that is Jan who a newspaper-obj reads-fin  INV: Hier lees jij en daar leest Jan Here read-fin you-subj and there reads-fin Jan-subj

16. Dutch Bilingual SLI worse than L1-SLI and L2-TD

17. Turkish verb inflection L2-TD bilingual SLI no errors a few

18. Disentangling bilingualism and SLI Different linguistc aspects showing up in the two populations: –Verb inflection is a marker of SLI –Gender assignment and Adjectival agreement constitute a marker of L2 But the difference between bilingual typical and bilingual SLI on the Dutch measures suggests that there is a cumulative effect at work in the SLI bilingual group

19. Further work -bilingualism, SLI and executive funtions (Aude Laloi) -Executive functioning in different populations and specific aspects of language

20. Explanations for SLI Specific linguistic component is damaged in part of Universal Grammar Processing of language is impaired Introduction

21. a.e.baker@uva.nl http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/a.e.baker CONTACT