Perovic, A;
Wexler, K;
(2018)
Teasing apart explanations of a developmental delay in binding: experimental evidence from the comparison of SLI and Williams syndrome.
Language Acquisition
, 25
(1)
pp. 24-38.
10.1080/10489223.2016.1187618.
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Abstract
This study investigates the knowledge of binding in 21 English-speaking children with SLI, aged 6;08-16;05, compared to 21 children with WS, language- and age-matched, and 21 language-matched control children, aged 4-7;10. Our results demonstrate no difficulties in the interpretation of reflexive or personal pronouns in SLI, revealing an intact knowledge of reflexive binding, as well as spared pragmatic functioning. Children with WS however show difficulties with their interpretation of pronouns, accepting the local binding of a pronoun, indicating impaired pragmatics. Not surprisingly, our language-matched typical controls, aged between 4-7;08 (M=5;03), showed a classic pattern of the Apparent Delay of Principle B Effect (ADPBE). In view of reported pragmatic but not memory deficits in WS, we interpret our results as consistent with the pragmatic deficit explanation but not the memory deficit explanation of the ADPBE.
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