Lexical Meaning: A Case Report, Some Striking Phenomena, Theoretical Implications

Abstract

A case of global aphasia is reported. In spite of severe impairments in auditory comprehension, as testified by failure in matching spoken words to pictured objects, the patient performed significantly higher than chance level in sorting out the odd item from a spoken list of semantically related words. This preserved ability to achieve the semantic processing of "non-understood" spoken words in the given task is compared to similar experimental data from the study of written word comprehension in dyslexic patients or normal subjects. Taken together, these data call for a procedural approach of the lexicon. In this theoretical framework, lexical meaning should not only be stored and retrieved but it should be computed at each word occurrence.

Linguistica Silesiana

“…Only several of the analysed research reports grounded their own aims or research questions in the findings of international research on other languages, the theory of aphasia or language processing in aphasia. Jodzio, Biechowska and Leszniewska-Jodzio (2008) confirm the findings of previous studies (Deloche et al 1981), which proved high variability in a single modality in global aphasia, e.g. in auditory comprehension, giving them grounds for questioning of global aphasia as a homogeneous aphasia type.…”

Deep dyslexia: Theoretical implications for reading and rehabilitation

“…An oral version of the 'odd word out test' has been performed with 'severe aphasic' patients, unable to grasp any orally gwen single word (Deloche et al 1981), with similar results, and therefore similar theoretical consequences.…”