scholarly journals Assessing recognition of sexist language: Development and use of the Gender-Specific Language Scale

Sex Roles ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 741-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. McMinn ◽  
Paul E. Williams ◽  
Lisa C. McMinn
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Sexist Language ◽  
Gender Specific

Linguistic markers of sexism in the Italian media: a case study of ministra and ministro

Corpora ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Formato
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Reform ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Job Titles ◽  
Sexist Language ◽  
Gender Specific

This paper examines the way that the Italian media use language to refer to female ministers in the last three governments. While Italian is a gender-specific language (e.g., a root of the job titles can be followed by either feminine or masculine morphemes, singular and plural), it is common to use masculine forms to refer to and address women. Ministro is one of those cases where masculine forms replace feminine ones – a practice which could be construed as sexist, is only rarely challenged in institutions, and to which attention has only recently been paid in academia ( Fusco, 2012 ; and Robustelli, 2012a , 2012b ). The investigation presented here focusses on how grammar is translated in a way that reproduces women's invisibility in a sexist society. A corpus-based quantitative analysis of feminine and masculine forms of ministr– used in three widely read printed Italian newspapers (Corriere della Sera, Il Resto del Carlino and La Stampa) is undertaken. Newspaper articles were collected in the period 2012–14 to cover the Monti technocratic government (three female ministers), and left-winged Letta (seven female ministers) and part of the Renzi (seven female ministers) political governments. This paper contributes to the literature on language reform and sexist language in traditionally male-inhabited physical and metaphysical (stereotypes, prototypes) spaces such as the institutional public sphere.

Cognition and Communication

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 964-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith R. Johnston ◽  
Linda B. Smith ◽  
Peggy Box
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Object Type ◽  
Attentional Capacity ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Normal Language

Ten children with specific language impairment and 10 children with normal language development were asked to describe objects so that a listener could select them. Each trial targeted two out of a group of three toys. The targeted objects were identical or were similar in size or color. Children in the two groups did not differ in referential success, although children in both groups found the size items more difficult. Content analysis of the messages did reveal differences in the referential strategies used most frequently. Children with specific language impairment were more likely to mention the attributes of each object separately, rather than to describe the characteristics common to a pair of objects. Children in both groups talked about separate objects more often when talking about size than about color or object type. Use of this strategy could indicate the effects of attentional capacity on children's solutions to communication tasks.

scholarly journals Connective processing by bilingual children and monolinguals with specific language impairment: distinct profiles

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLEM M. MAK ◽  
ELENA TRIBUSHININA ◽  
JULIA LOMAKO ◽  
NATALIA GAGARINA ◽  
EKATERINA ABROSOVA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Production Studies ◽  
Two Populations

AbstractProduction studies show that both Russian-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and bilingual children for whom Russian is a non-dominant language have difficulty distinguishing between the near-synonymous connectivesi‘and’ anda‘and/but’.Iis a preferred connective when reference is maintained, whereasais normally used for reference shift. We report an eye-tracking experiment comparing connective processing by Russian-speaking monolinguals with typical language development (TLD) with that of Russian–Dutch bilinguals and Russian-speaking monolinguals with SLI (age 5–6). The results demonstrate that the processing profiles of monolinguals with TLD and bilinguals are similar: both groups use connective semantics immediately for predicting further discourse. In contrast, children with SLI do not show sensitivity to these semantic differences. Despite similar production profiles, bilinguals and monolinguals with SLI are clearly different in connective processing. We discuss the implications of these results for the possible causes of the errors in the two populations.

Taalvaardigheidsonderzoek bij Taalgestoorde Leerlingen in het Voortgezet Onderwijs

1998 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 29-38
Author(s):  
E.A. Burger ◽  
G. Rijpma
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Grammatical Errors

Adolescent speakers of Dutch who have a language disorder cannot as yet be identified by generally acknowledged tests. However, in the future this will become necessary to apply for special education or financial support in the regular educational system. Based on a survey of the literature concerning normal and disordered language development in children up age 10, this article presents a pilot study in which the language skills of 10 specific language-impaired students are compared with those of 10 normally developing peers. Tasks are used both within academic and communicative contexts. Between the groups significant differences appear on two aspects only: the number of grammatical errors made while telling a story, and the length of the sentences used in writing a story. These two aspects therefore appear to be useful in the process of identifying language-disordered adolescents.

Children with specific language impairment. Laurence B. Leonard. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998. Pp. 339.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-311
Author(s):  
Lynne E. Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Sensory Deficits ◽  
Nature Versus Nurture ◽  
Linguistic Impairment

Laurence Leonard is one of the most prolific and well-respected researchers in the area of specific language impairment (SLI) in children, and he is well qualified to write a book surveying the topic. SLI is a disorder of unknown origin, which appears to have a genetic component, causing delays and disorders of language development in children of normal nonverbal intelligence with no significant medical, emotional, or sensory deficits. The primary purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive review of research in the field of SLI, and Leonard has the minute knowledge necessary to succeed at the task. The coverage in the book reaches back to the earliest nineteenth-century descriptions of children who fit the profile and then moves forward quickly to the massive literature that has accumulated on the topic in the last 20 years. Following the introductory historical and definitional section, Leonard goes on to describe the nature of the linguistic impairment in SLI, including important cross-linguistic accounts and nonlinguistic cognitive issues. The book also covers hypotheses of causation, in a “nature versus nurture” section, and clinical issues of assessment and intervention. Part V, on theory, may be of most interest to psycholinguists who are not language disorders specialists. Overall, there is no doubt that this book is both an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with SLI and a welcome overview and resource for experts. Leonard's knowledge is encyclopedic, his presentation erudite, and his grasp of detail unfailingly impressive.

Acquisition of verb meaning through syntactic cues: A comparison of children with autism, children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language development (TLD)

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
CORY SHULMAN ◽  
AINAT GUBERMAN
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Syntactic Cues

The ability to extract meaning through the use of syntactic cues, adapted from Naigles' (1990) paradigm, was investigated in Hebrew-speaking children with autism, those with specific language impairment (SLI) and those with typical language development (TLD), in an attempt to shed light on similarities and differences between the two diagnostic categories, both defined by primary language deficits. Thirteen children with autism and 13 with SLI were matched on chronological age, level of language functioning and gender, and 13 children with TLD were matched to the children in the two clinical groups according to language level, as measured by the CELF-P. Children with autism and children with TLD learned novel words using the syntactical cues in the sentences in which they were presented, whereas children with SLI experienced more difficulty, learning only that which would be expected from chance according to the binomial test. Only 4 of the 13 children with SLI (31%) learned the new words, whereas 11 children with autism and 10 children with TLD learned the novel verb using syntactical cues from the sentence frame. The results are analyzed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms in language acquisition. Children with autism seem to rely on relatively intact syntactic abilities, while children with SLI seem to have marked impairment in using this mechanism in acquiring word meaning. Implications for future research and intervention with preschool children with primary language disorders are discussed.

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