[Disturbances of word finding of compound nouns (nomina composita) in aphasics (author's transl)]

The faulty use of compound nouns by aphasics is of practical and theoretical significance. Defects in the finding and using of compound nouns were investigated with respect to the following parameters: the importance of the frequency with which compounds and compound parts are used in normal speech, the influence of grammatical and psycholinguistic peculiarities on aphasic dysfunction, and the handling of compounds in individual aphasic syndromes. The distinctly poorer recall of compound nouns compared with simple nouns was found to be due mainly to their less frequent use in normal speech. In word-finding the grammatical unit of the compound noun was not very stable patholinguistically. If one part of the compound noun was commoner and more usual in normal speech than the other it was usually better recalled. However, some remarkable deviations from this were due to semantic functional value, vividness, morphologic peculiarities, and linguistic form. The wider meaning-range of the second part of the compound noun had no positive mnemonic effect, despite the propensity of the aphasic for the general. In naming tests the first part of the compound noun was preferred on average. Certain differences in the defective use of compound nouns were observed between the individual aphasic syndromes.