title: Lexical-semantic immaturities manifesting as grammatical disorders: evidence from a child language sample.
abstract: Given the growing evidence of the integral role that semantic development plays in normal child syntactic acquisition, it is very likely that lexical-semantic deficits can have ramifications for a child's grammar. This paper illustrates how semantics and syntax interact in a case study of a child, 5;3 years, with apparent grammatical deficits. Using concepts from Principles and Parameters Theory, a language sample analysis revealed that what appeared to be purely grammatical deficits arose via underlying lexical-semantic mechanisms. Language sample analyses to adequately guide intervention planning may thus need to move beyond superficial surface structures and utilize linguistic frameworks capable of addressing the interaction among language-internal components.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504-3170, USA. zanmok@louisiana.edu
authors.forename: Zaneta
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mok
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Kipka
mesh_terms: D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012660:Semantics; D014825:Vocabulary