The Ug Test: Morpheme production and language impairment

Abstract

This is a report on some preliminary findings regarding retrieval of novel, fast-mapped, bound morphemes in experimental conditions by people who have previously been diagnosed as Specifically Language Impaired (LI), and who are taking part in a follow-up study of children who have been seen at the Reading University language assessment clinic. The specifically English-LI problem with bound morphology is related here to the cue strength of such elements in English, and problems with processing short, unstressed sounds which have been observed in LI children. Experiments on preschool LI children's production and comprehension of fast-mapped novel morphemes are reviewed, and preliminary results from a similar experiment, using ten older LI-history children from this study, are given.

Key Words:

• specific language impairment
• morphology
• cue strength