Related Experiment Videos
Language and Williams syndrome: how intact is "intact"?
A Karmiloff-Smith1, J Grant, I Berthoud
1MRC-CDU, London, U.K. annette@cdu.ucl.ac.uk
Child Development
|April 1, 1997
Summary
Williams syndrome (WS) language abilities are not intact, challenging prior claims. Individuals with WS show significant morphosyntactic deficits, suggesting a different developmental path for language acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder.
- WS is often cited as evidence for modular innate language faculties.
- Previous research suggested intact morphosyntax in WS despite cognitive deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge the claim of intact morphosyntax in Williams syndrome.
- To investigate receptive and expressive language skills in WS.
- To re-evaluate the notion of modular language capacities in WS.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of receptive language in English-speaking WS individuals using a standardized morphosyntactic test.
- Experimental study of expressive language in French-speaking WS patients, focusing on grammatical gender assignment.
- Comparison of WS patients' performance with control groups, considering verbal mental age.
Main Results:
- WS individuals exhibit clear deficits in morphosyntax, contrary to previous assumptions.
- Difficulties were observed in both receptive language (e.g., embedded sentences) and expressive language (e.g., grammatical gender).
- Performance deficits persist into adulthood, even when verbal mental age is controlled.
Conclusions:
- The notion of intact, modular language in Williams syndrome is challenged.
- WS language acquisition follows a distinct trajectory, potentially resembling second language learning.
- Rethinking the nature of language development in neurodevelopmental disorders is necessary.