Abstract
Far too many studies in speech therapy hitherto have been directed towards ascertaining and categorising the aetiology of language delay. Thus it is important that current research should include the examination of the difficulties experienced by some children in acquiring language by reference to the systematic methods of investigation used by linguists. Thus the first task must be to analyse the structure of deviant language for as Jakobson (1956) states “… to study adequately breakdown in communication we must first understand the nature and structure of the particular mode of communication that has ceased to function”. The aim should be to apply linguistics to all facets of speech pathology in order to demonstrate the relevance of studying deviant language by comparison with theories of how language functions as a medium of communication. The observations made by linguist and speech therapist, working together on clinical problems, should form a basis for further investigations to be carried on by psychologist and neurologist. However, the emphasis in the primary stage must be on the making of statements of what a speaker is doing, and only then will it be feasible to ask the questions: How and Why should he organise his language so that it deviates markedly from other members of his speech community? Arising from this work, it should be possible to make additions to the literature on speech disorders by making descriptions of deviant speech.
SUMMARY
This article examines the need for future research in speech pathology to be concerned with the making of linguistic descriptions of deviant language.
It is suggested that qualitative assessments, as opposed to quantitive assessments, may be fundamental to the planning of appropriate remedial language teaching.
Furthermore, comparative descriptions between children's deviant and non-deviant language acquisition are required if reliable statements are to be made about a child's delayed acquisition of language and preliminary to determining a relevant course of action.
It will be all the more necessary to take into account the child's cognitive development as well as factors of pathology, maturational lag and the social restrictions of the language used in some homes, and the homes particularly of the greater percentage of children referred for speech therapy.
Linguists who interest themselves in speech pathology cannot assume that they will be able to deal with the problems of delayed language acquisition in the same way as they would meet the demands to teach English as a second language to immigrant children. The tacit assumption made in teaching immigrant children is that in general they will not have handicaps which prevent their learning. Those children who require speech therapy have handicaps which require investigation, and the findings of these are fundamental to the adapting of methods of teaching to meet each individual child's needs.