Determining the development of syntax in typically-developing Indian adolescents using a syntactic analysis package

Abstract

Background The syntactic structures used by adolescents can be calculated by measuring various markers that have the scope of developing with age. The use of such markers can be influenced by the type and modality of discourse on the individual uses. Aims The present study was aimed at exploring the syntactic development in 10–16-year-old Indian adolescents using markers such as sentences, clauses, subordinators, coordinators, T-units and the subordination index (SI) using written expository texts. Methods The study followed a cross-sectional study design following a non-random convenient sampling procedure. A total number of 180 typically-developing adolescents divided into six groups participated in the study. Phase 1 of the study comprised the preparation of the stimuli; Phase 2 included the data collection; Phase 3 focused on the data analysis; and Phase 4 involved the statistical analysis performed on the obtained data. Results One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a main level of significance at p < 0.05 for all variables (except SI) indicating an overall change in the development across the six age groups. Bonferroni’s post hoc analysis indicated poor significance between the groups in almost all the six variables. Conclusions Understanding the syntactic markers in the language of adolescents is essential to determine the academic and communicative effectiveness of these individuals.

Perspectives of Indian speech language pathologists towards assessing adolescents with language impairments

“…The SLPs in the current study indicated the development of language to terminate either during childhood, adulthood, or later adulthood. Findings of studies on language development reveal language development to be an ongoing process that may actually never end (7)(8)(9)18) , which was also reported by a small proportion (24%) of participants in the current study. Contrastively, other research states language acquisition to begin during infancy, peaking during childhood, where there is maximum development of language due to supporting biological factors, and ending well before adolescence (19) .…”

“…Contrastively, New Zealand uses terms such as ‘youth’ and ‘adolescence’ synonymously, referring to ‘young people’ ranging between 10 and 24 years of age. Various researchers have studied adolescents who were considered to be aged between 10 and 24 years ( 16 ) , 13 and 19 years ( 17 ) , and 10 and 16 years ( 7 , 9 , 18 ) . Such a blend of use of adolescent periods does imply that it is conveniently decided and followed upon, with the precise onset and offset being difficult to be determined ( 1 ) , with no uniform pattern being recorded.…”

“…The assessment of morpho-syntax was deemed to be the second most crucial aspect of language assessment in adolescents, with areas including grammaticality judgment and use of higher-level grammar (i.e., embedded clauses and different sentences) being reported by the participants of the current study. Apart from studies that have used morphological derivations as a potential marker ( 10 ) , others have used measures such as T-units and C-units to assess the syntactic development in adolescents ( 7 ) . The semantic domain was reported to be the third most crucial aspect of assessment which included the use of linguistic fluency, complex vocabulary, semantic knowledge (breadth and depth), abstract concepts, expression of homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, proverbs, and idioms (sometimes also considered as a pragmatic skill).…”

“…Tool-related factors included the lack of awareness of existing tools ( 28 ) , and the lack of availability of linguistically and culturally standardized adolescent language assessment tools (both western and Indian), both of which being under-addressed dilemmas. Although attempts are underway to study the assessment of language in Indian adolescents ( 7 - 9 , 18 ) using formal and informal methods, the participants report such tools being too complex and time-consuming. Apart from this, certain client-related factors included the patient’s reluctance to talk, shyness, improper furnishing of details by the family/self, and the patient’s inability to comprehend instructions.…”

“…The assessment of adolescent language can be performed using certain standardized western clinical tools, with only one recent tool ( 4 ) available for the Indian population. Other assessment methods include the use of tasks that focus on expository discourse ( 7 , 8 ) both in written ( 7 , 8 ) and spoken modalities ( 9 ) , conversation ( 9 ) , morphological derivations ( 10 ) , syntactic structures ( 7 ) , and narratives ( 11 ) .…”