Prosodic Skills of Spanish-speaking Children with Developmental Language Disorder
Identificadores
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/87852Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Calet Ruiz, Nuria; Martín Peregrina, Francisca; Jiménez Fernández, Gracia; Martínez-Castilla, PastoraMateria
Prosodic skills Spanish language Developmental language disorder Specific language impairment
Date
2021-05Referencia bibliográfica
Calet, N., Martín‐Peregrina, M. Á., Jiménez‐Fernández, G., & Martínez‐Castilla, P. (2021). Prosodic skills of Spanish‐speaking children with developmental language disorder. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(4), 784-796. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12627
Abstract
Background
Phonological difficulties in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are well documented. However, abilities regarding prosody, the rhythmic and melodic characteristics of language, have been less widely studied, particularly in Spanish. Moreover, the scant research findings that have been reported are contradictory. These considerations justify our new research into the question, focusing on Spanish-speaking children with DLD.
Aims
To examine a wide range of prosodic skills among Spanish-speaking children with DLD. To analyse the relationships between prosody and other language measurements.
Methods & Procedures
Prosodic skills were assessed through the Spanish version of the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication (PEPS-C) battery. The performance of 19 children aged 5–11 years with DLD was compared with that of a chronological age-matched control group of 19 typically developing children. Language skills were also assessed.
Outcomes & Results
There were significant differences between the group with DLD and the control group in terms of skills involving prosody functions and forms: turn-end and chunking signalling, contrastive focus and affect expression and understanding, discriminating and the imitation of prosodic patterns in both words and phrases.
Conclusions & Implications
Spanish-speaking children with DLD present impairments not only when prosody interacts with language but also in the processing of prosody alone. The study results suggest that prosody is related to lexicon and grammar in children with DLD. The prosodic impairments of Spanish-speaking children with DLD could produce a negative impact on their language functioning and could also relate to their emotional and social difficulties. Consideration should therefore be given to focusing future interventions on prosodic skills in Spanish-speaking children with DLD.