The dissolution of text in written language: Evidence toward a continuum of complexity∗

For their assistance in the preparation of this paper I thank Mae Balaban, Lois Bloom, Claudette Feier, Patricia Launer, Elaine Silliman, Mrs. W's daughter (who allowed use of the logs) and Hackensack Hospital (which allowed access to Mrs. W's medical records). I have benefited from presenting the results of this research to the child language research group at Teachers College, a colloquium at the University of Montreal, and the New York City Child Language Conference.

Abstract

Evidence of the dissolution of text was examined in written logs kept daily for 4 1/2 years by a woman who suffered from cerebral atrophy of unknown origin. There were systematic changes in the use of inter‐ and intrasentence cohesive devices and in the narrative structure of the texts. The patterns observed were similar to those that have been reported in the oral narratives of adults where focal lesion of the brain resulted in the precipitous loss of language. Additionally, the sequence of dissolution found here paralleled, in many ways, the sequence reported in the literature for the development of text in children's oral language. These findings suggest that certain aspects of cohesion involve more complex processes than others. These processes involved holding in mind more than one event while searching for forms to code aspects of language content and/or language use.

Notes

For their assistance in the preparation of this paper I thank Mae Balaban, Lois Bloom, Claudette Feier, Patricia Launer, Elaine Silliman, Mrs. W's daughter (who allowed use of the logs) and Hackensack Hospital (which allowed access to Mrs. W's medical records). I have benefited from presenting the results of this research to the child language research group at Teachers College, a colloquium at the University of Montreal, and the New York City Child Language Conference.