LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:5 May 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Pragmatic Profiling in Down Syndrome

Anjana Merin Xavier
Santhana. M.
Sofia V Sunny
Satish Kumaraswami, Asst. Professor & Ph.D. Scholar
Dr. T. A. Subba Rao

Abstract

Pragmatics has been described as the study of the rules prevailing in the use of language in social context. Pragmatic or communicative competence is the capability to produce socially and culturally appropriate spoken discourse in a variety of participation configurations, including the interpersonal mode. In contrast, children with difficult in recognizing and satisfying the social rules of language are usually described as having pragmatic disabilities.

The present study aimed to profile the pragmatic skills in Malayalam speaking Down syndrome in the age range of 4-12 years. The study involved a total number of 10 children and 5 children each across the age group of 4-7.11 years and 8-11.11 years of mental age. The statistical result shows that their exit a significant difference in the age group of 4-7.11 years and 8-11.11 years for clinician initiated and self-initiated pragmatic skills and no significant difference across the age group for both the clinician initiated and self-initiated. The present study concluded that as the age increases couple of clinician initiated pragmatic skills like eye contact, gaze exchange, joint attention, labeling answering question turn taking, reapir, topic initiation topic maintance and adding information were improved. Pragmatic skills like smiling, request for object and feedback was same across the age. Negation got decline with age. In self -initiating skill, refusal, stylistic variation, turn taking, narration topic initiation, maintance, topic change initiation of joint attention and request for repair were improved as age increases. Communicative intent and questioning were same across the age.

Key words: Down syndrome, Pragmatic skills, Pragmatic Profiling

Introduction

Communication is a key element by which individual exchange information and ideas (Tourish & Owen, 2004). Communication clearly depends on not only recognizing the meaning of words in utterances, but recognizing what speaker’s means by their utterance. Language is the major vehicle of communication. Language is a learned code or system of rules (Owens, 2008) and it is a primary means by which human being maintain interpersonal contact, socialize with others and regulate interactions. Effective communication requires not only linguistic knowledge but social knowledge as well. The term pragmatics has been introduced into the field of speech–language by Elizabeth Bates, a psychologist at the University of California. Bates (1976) defined pragmatics as the rules governing the use of language in context.

Pragmatic Profiling is an informal interview carried out to explore a child’s communication in everyday interactions. It asks questions about how the child usually reacts in each of a series of situations. (Dewart, 2012). Language development in Down syndrome has been the focus of a considerable amount of study over the years. Down syndrome (DS) is the leading genetic cause of intellectual disability, with a prevalence of 1 in 700 births [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006].

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Anjana Merin Xavier
Anjana Merin Xavier

Anjana Merin Xavier
Final Year Post-Graduate Student
Dr. M. V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore - 575015
Karnataka
India
amx.aslp@gmail.com

Santhana. M.
Final Year Post-Graduate Student
Dr. M. V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore - 575015
Karnataka
India
santhanamuralidharan@gmail.com

Sofia V Sunny
Final Year Post-Graduate Student
Dr. M. V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore - 575015
Karnataka
India
sofiaaslp@gmail.com

Mr. Satish. K.
Dr. M. V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore - 575015
Karnataka
India
sat8378@yahoo.com

Dr. T. A. Subba Rao
Dr. M. V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore - 575015
Karnataka
India
drtasr.slp@gmail.com
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