Chapter 9
Syntactic priming as a window to investigate grammatical learning in non-typical populations
Syntactic priming is a useful tool for investigating grammatical learning in both children and adults with
language impairment. The studies discussed in this chapter combine psycholinguistic methods and theoretical approaches for
advancing our knowledge of language pathologies, elucidating some of the mechanisms of grammatical learning that could be at
the core of the language impairment. The first part of the chapter discusses experimental studies on syntactic priming in
children with a developmental language disorder (DLD), with a focus on the learning mechanisms that support the acquisition of
grammatical structures in these children, structures that are otherwise rare in input and output. The second part of the
chapter discusses the use of priming in the investigation of acquired language disorders in adults, when language has already
been acquired and access is assumed to be the chief problem.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Clinical markers: Why is structural priming a good candidate
- 3.Grammatical learning in children with DLD: The contribution of syntactic priming
- 3.1Priming syntax in children with DLD
- 3.2From immediate priming to implicit learning
- 4.Structural priming in aphasia: A rationale for the adaptation
- 5.Conclusions and future directions
-
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2023.
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