Aviva Lerman1, Lia Pazuelo1, Lian Kizner2, Katy Borodkin3, Mira Goral1,2,4. 1. Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY, USA. 2. Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Lehman College, City University of New York, NY, USA. 3. Department of Communication Disorders, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 4. MultiLing Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Language mixing in bilingual speakers with aphasia has been reported in a number of research studies, but the reasons for the mixing and whether it reflects typical or atypical behaviour has been a matter of debate. AIMS: In this study we tested the hypothesis that language mixing behaviour in bilingual aphasia reflects lexical retrieval difficulty. METHODS & PROCEDURES: We recruited a Hebrew-English bilingual participant with mild-moderate non-fluent agrammatic aphasia and assessed his languages at three timepoints. We analysed the participant's Hebrew and English production for retrieval during single-word naming, sentences, and discourse, and identified all instances of language mixing. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: We found that there was a greater frequency of language mixing during production of more difficult lexical items, namely the post-morbidly less proficient language (compared to the more proficient language), function words (compared to content words), and single-word naming (compared to retrieval in the context of connected speech tasks), but not for verbs (compared to nouns). CONCLUSIONS: In this bilingual participant with non-fluent aphasia, language mixing behaviour closely resembles lexical retrieval difficulty. Thus, we suggest that bilingual speakers with aphasia may mix their languages as a strategy to maximise communication.
BACKGROUND: Language mixing in bilingual speakers with aphasia has been reported in a number of research studies, but the reasons for the mixing and whether it reflects typical or atypical behaviour has been a matter of debate. AIMS: In this study we tested the hypothesis that language mixing behaviour in bilingual aphasia reflects lexical retrieval difficulty. METHODS & PROCEDURES: We recruited a Hebrew-English bilingual participant with mild-moderate non-fluent agrammatic aphasia and assessed his languages at three timepoints. We analysed the participant's Hebrew and English production for retrieval during single-word naming, sentences, and discourse, and identified all instances of language mixing. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: We found that there was a greater frequency of language mixing during production of more difficult lexical items, namely the post-morbidly less proficient language (compared to the more proficient language), function words (compared to content words), and single-word naming (compared to retrieval in the context of connected speech tasks), but not for verbs (compared to nouns). CONCLUSIONS: In this bilingual participant with non-fluent aphasia, language mixing behaviour closely resembles lexical retrieval difficulty. Thus, we suggest that bilingual speakers with aphasia may mix their languages as a strategy to maximise communication.
Entities:
Keywords:
aphasia; bilingual; codemixing; codeswitching; language mixing; lexical retrieval