The Impact of Aphasia on Textual Coherence
Evidence from Two Typologically Different Languages
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.v3i1.47Keywords:
aphasia, coherence, narrative, text production, cohesion, Norwegian, FinnishAbstract
Difficulties in the use of lexico-grammatical resources of one's language may affect the interpretation of texts produced by speakers with aphasia as coherent. Our aim is to explore similarities and potential differences in how the textual coherence is realized by speakers with aphasia in comparison with speakers without aphasia in Finnish and Norwegian. We investigate the thematic flow and the event flow in the texts, by examining reference chains and the use of verbs, respectively, and the use of connectors that link the clauses of the text together. Differences in text production based on the presence or absence of aphasia were found in our data, but no clear cross-linguistic differences. Lexico-grammatical difficulties associated with aphasia lead to missing information about who the characters in the text are, and what types of events they are involved in. Vague or ambiguous forms of reference are also present to a larger extent in the texts by the speakers with aphasia, causing problems for the interpretation of the texts as coherent entities.
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Olness, G. S. (2006) Genre, verb, and coherence in picture-elicited discourse of adults with aphasia. Aphasiology 20 (2–4): 175–187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02687030500472710
Pohjasvaara, T., Erkinjuntti, T., Vataja, R. and Kaste M. (1998). Correlates of dependent living 3 months after ischemic stroke. Journal of Cerebrovascular Diseases 8 (5): 259–266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000015863
Prins, R. and Bastiaanse, R. (2004). Review: Analysing the spontaneous speech of aphasic speakers. Aphasiology 18 (12): 1075–1091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02687030444000534
Stemmer, B. (1999). Discourse studies in neurologically impaired populations: A quest for action. Brain and Language 68 (3): 402–418. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brln.1999.2120
Vilkuna, M. (1989). Free Word Order in Finnish. Its Syntax and Discourse Functions. Helsinki: The Finnish Literature Society.
Ulatowska, H. K. and Olness, G. S. (2000). Discourse revisited: Contributions of lexicosyntactic devices. Brain and Language 71 (1): 249–251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brln.1999.2261
Ulatowska, H. K. and Olness, G. S. (2007). Pragmatics in discourse performance: Insights from aphasiology. Seminars in Speech and Language 28 (2): 148–157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-970572
Armstrong, E. (1991). The potential of cohesion analysis in the analysis and treatment of aphasic discourse. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 5 (1): 39–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699209108985501
Armstrong, E. (2000). Aphasic discourse analysis: The story so far. Aphasiology 14 (9): 875–892. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02687030050127685
Armstrong, E. (2005). Language disorder: A functional linguistic perspective. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 19 (3): 137–153.
Askedal, J. O. (2005). The standard languages and their systems in the 20th century III: Norwegian. In O. Bandle, K. Braunmüller, E. H. Jahr, A. Karker, H.-P. Naumann and U. Teleman (eds) The Nordic Languages. An International Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages, Volume 2, 1584–1602. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699200410001698599
Bates, E., Wulfeck, B. and MacWhinney, B. (1991). Crosslinguistic research in aphasia: An overview. Brain and Language 41 (2): 123–148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(91)90149-U
Butt, M. (2010). The light verb jungle: Still hacking away. In M. Amberber, B. Baker and M. Harvey (eds) Complex Predicates. Cross-Linguistic Perspectives on Event Structure, 48–78. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chafe, W. L. (ed.) (1980), The Pear Stories. Cognitive, Cultural, and Linguistic Aspects of Narrative Production. Norwood, MA: Ablex.
Chapman, S. B., Highley, A. P. and Thompson J. L. (1998). Discourse in fluent aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease: Linguistic and cognitive considerations. In M. Paradis (ed.) Pragmatics in Neurogenic Communication Disorders, 55–78. Oxford: Elsevier Science.
Christiansen, J. A. (1995). Coherence violations and propositional usage in the narratives of fluent aphasics. Brain and Language 51 (2): 29–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brln.1995.1062
Coelho, C. A. and Flewellyn, L. (2003). Longitudinal assessment of coherence in an adult with fluent aphasia: A follow-up study. Aphasiology 17 (2): 173–182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/729255216
Downing, A. (1991). An alternative approach to theme: A systemic-functional perspective. Word 42 (2): 119–143.
Eggins, S. (1994). An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter.
Eggins, S. and Martin, J. R. (1997). Genres and registers of discourse. In T. A. van Dijk (ed.) Discourse as Structure and Process. Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction, Volume 1, 230–256. London: SAGE.
Eiesland, E. A. and Lind, M. (2012). Compound nouns in spoken language production by speakers with aphasia compared to neurologically healthy speakers: An exploratory study. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 26 (3): 232–254. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.3109/02699206.2011.607376
Glosser, G. and Deser, T. (1990). Patterns of discourse production among neurological patients with fluent language disorders. Brain and Language 40 (1): 67–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(91)90117-J
Gordon, J. K. (2008). Measuring the lexical semantics of picture description in aphasia. Aphasiology 22 (7–8): 839–852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02687030701820063
Gundel, J. K., Hedberg, N. and Zacharski, R. (1993). Cognitive status and the form of referring expressions in discourse. Language 69 (2): 274–307. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/416535
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. Second Edition. London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K and Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Halliday, M. A. K. and Hasan, R. (1985). Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of Language as a Social-semiotic Perspective. Victoria: Deakin University Press.
Helasvuori, M-L. (2008). Aspects of the structure of Finnish. In A. Klippi and K. Launonen (eds) Research in Logopedics. Speech and Language Therapy in Finland, 9–18. Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Kalliokoski, J. (1989). Ja. Rinnastus ja rinnastuskonjunktion käyttö. [And. Co-ordination and the use of co-ordinate conjunction]. Helsinki: The Finnish Literature Society.
Korpijaakko-Huuhka, A-M. (1995). Kertomuksen koherenssi: Sarjakuvakertomuksen normaaalivariaation piirteitä ja kuuden afaatikon kertomuksen analyysi. [Narrative coherence: Features of normal variation and an analysis of texts of six aphasic persons]. Licenciate thesis. University of Helsinki, Department of Phonetics. In Finnish.
Korpijaakko-Huuhka, A-M. (2008). Text Production of Finnish Speakers with Aphasia. In A. Klippi and K. Launonen (eds) Research in Logopedics. Speech and Language Therapy in Finland, 99–124. Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Labov, W. (1977). Language in the Inner City. Studies in the Black English Vernacular. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Laine, M. and Martin, N. (2006). Anomia. Theoretical and Clinical Aspects. New York: Psychology Press.
Lind, M., Kristoffersen, K. E., Simonsen, H. G. and Moen, I. (2009). Semi-spontaneous oral text production: Measurements in clinical practice. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 23 (12): 872–886. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/02699200903040051
Mackenzie, C. (2000). Adult spoken discourse: The influences of age and education. International Journal of Communication Disorders 35 (2): 269–285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/136828200247188
Matthiessen, C. and Halliday, M. A. K. (1997). Systemic Functional Grammar: A First Step into the Theory. Sydney: Macquarie University, Department of Linguistics, Australia.
Menn, L. and Obler, L. K. (eds) (1990). Agrammatic Aphasia. A Cross-Language Narrative Sourcebook. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Mortensen, L., Meyer, A. S. and Humphreys, G. W. (2006). Age-related effects on speech production: A review. Language and Cognitive Processes 21 (1–3): 238–290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01690960444000278
Olness, G. S. (2006) Genre, verb, and coherence in picture-elicited discourse of adults with aphasia. Aphasiology 20 (2–4): 175–187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02687030500472710
Pohjasvaara, T., Erkinjuntti, T., Vataja, R. and Kaste M. (1998). Correlates of dependent living 3 months after ischemic stroke. Journal of Cerebrovascular Diseases 8 (5): 259–266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000015863
Prins, R. and Bastiaanse, R. (2004). Review: Analysing the spontaneous speech of aphasic speakers. Aphasiology 18 (12): 1075–1091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02687030444000534
Stemmer, B. (1999). Discourse studies in neurologically impaired populations: A quest for action. Brain and Language 68 (3): 402–418. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brln.1999.2120
Vilkuna, M. (1989). Free Word Order in Finnish. Its Syntax and Discourse Functions. Helsinki: The Finnish Literature Society.
Ulatowska, H. K. and Olness, G. S. (2000). Discourse revisited: Contributions of lexicosyntactic devices. Brain and Language 71 (1): 249–251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/brln.1999.2261
Ulatowska, H. K. and Olness, G. S. (2007). Pragmatics in discourse performance: Insights from aphasiology. Seminars in Speech and Language 28 (2): 148–157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-970572
Published
2012-04-03
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Korpijaakko-Huuhka, A.-M., & Lind, M. (2012). The Impact of Aphasia on Textual Coherence: Evidence from Two Typologically Different Languages. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 3(1), 47-70. https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.v3i1.47
