title: Pragmatics in discourse performance: insights from aphasiology.
abstract: This article examines the preservation of pragmatic abilities of individuals with aphasia, as manifested in the discourse they produce. The construct of coherence is used as a framework for understanding this pragmatic preservation. Discourse coherence is largely derived from the structure, selection, and highlighting of information expressed in a discourse. Personal narratives, as one type of discourse, represent an extended turn-in-conversation on a topic of personal relevance to the speaker, common in everyday life. As such, they provide a valuable source of information about a speaker's pragmatic ability. Examples of personal narratives told by individuals with aphasia are used to illustrate and discuss the means by which discourse coherence is achieved. These include a tightly structured temporal-causal event line, development of theme, and evaluation of information. Possible approaches to clinical assessment are considered, including use of global rating systems.
authors.affiliation: Callier Center for Communication Disorders, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Hanna K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Ulatowska
authors.forename: Gloria Streit
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Olness
mesh_terms: D001037:Aphasia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics / Q000379:methods*; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014705:Verbal Behavior