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Language learnability and specific language impairment in children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Laurence B. Leonard
Laurence B. Leonard*
Affiliation:
Purdue University
*
Laurence B. Leonard, Audiology & Speech Sciences, Heavilon Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
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Abstract

Theories of language learnability have focused on “normal” language development, but there is a group of children, termed “specifically language-impaired,” for whom these theories are also appropriate. These children present an interesting learnability problem because they develop language slowly, the intermediate points in their development differ in certain respects from the usual developmental stages, and they do not always achieve the adult level of language functioning. In this article, specifically language-impaired children are treated as normal learners dealing with an input that is distorted in principled ways. When the children are viewed from this perspective, Pinker's (1984) theory can account for many of the features of their language.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 1989 , pp. 179 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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