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Comprehension of indefinite pronouns and quantifiers by hearing-impaired students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Ronnie B. Wilbur*
Affiliation:
Purdue University
Wendy C. Goodhart
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Boston University
*
Ronnie Wilbur, Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana47907.

Abstract

Deaf students' recognition of indefinite pronouns and quantifiers was tested using written materials in the form of comic strips that provided pragmatically appropriate context. One hundred and eighty-seven profoundly hearing-impaired students, aged 7–23 years, served as subjects. There were significant developmental trends for both the indefinite pronouns and the quantifiers, with the quantifiers significantly more difficult than the indefinite pronouns. A comparison of the results with predictions drawn from theoretical linguistics and with predictions drawn from Developmental Sentence Scoring (Lee, 1974) data for hearing children indicates that theoretical predictions are more accurate for hearing-impaired students. This may be due to differences in methodology (DSS reports spontaneous spoken language; the present study reports comprehension of written English) and to educational practices with hearing-impaired students.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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