Tense/aspect category in fluent and nonfluent German aphasia: An experimental training programme for verb production

Time reference decoupled from tense in agrammatic and fluent aphasia

“…This is in line with findings from previous studies in other languages (Abuom & Bastiaanse, 2012Abuom, Obler, & Bastiaanse, 2011;Bastiaanse, 2008;Bastiaanse et al, 2011;Faroqi-Shah & Dickey, 2009;Jonkers & de Bruin, 2009;Lee et al, 2008;Nanousi et al 2006;Simonsen & Lind, 2002;Stavrakaki & Kouvava, 2003;Wieczorek et al, 2011;Yarbay Duman & Bastiaanse, 2009) but some studies do not show a difference between past and non-past (Burchert et al, 2005;Clahsen & Ali, 2009;Kok et al, 2007;grammaticality judgement in Nanousi et al, 2006;Wenzlaff & Clahsen, 2004). The results provide further support for the PADILIH that says that in order to produce a verb form that refers to the past, a link has to be made in discourse, for which discourse syntax is needed.…”

“…However, the finite verbs they use have a higher frequency and a lower diversity than the nonfinite verbs, whereas in the spontaneous speech of non-brain-damaged speakers (NBDs) diversity and frequency of finite and non-finite verbs do not differ (Bastiaanse, 2011). Still, in an experimental setting, people with fluent aphasia also show an impaired performance on verbs with past time reference compared to verbs with non-past time reference, which is however qualitatively different from that of agrammatic aphasic speakers Jonkers & de Bruin, 2009;Kljajevic & Bastiaanse, 2011;Wieczorek et al, 2011). Wieczorek et al (2011) trained two German speaking individuals with Broca's aphasia and two individuals with Wernicke's aphasia in tense and aspect production.…”

“…Still, in an experimental setting, people with fluent aphasia also show an impaired performance on verbs with past time reference compared to verbs with non-past time reference, which is however qualitatively different from that of agrammatic aphasic speakers Jonkers & de Bruin, 2009;Kljajevic & Bastiaanse, 2011;Wieczorek et al, 2011). Wieczorek et al (2011) trained two German speaking individuals with Broca's aphasia and two individuals with Wernicke's aphasia in tense and aspect production. All participants made errors during the baseline task, mainly tense (and therewith aspect) substitutions.…”

“…Spontaneous speech analysis as well as experimental testing has demonstrated that finite verb forms (those forms that correspond in number and person with the subject of the sentence) are difficult to produce for them (Burchert, Swoboda-Moll, & Bleser, 2005;Clahsen & Ali, 2009;Friedmann & Grodzinsky, 1997;Gavarró & Martínez-Ferreiro, 2007;Kok, Kolk, & Haverkort, 2006;Kok, van Doorn, & Kolk, 2007;Wenzlaff & Clahsen, 2004Wieczorek, Huber, & Darkow, 2011). Even though many reasons for this phenomenon have been proposed, most researchers agree that tense and aspect, the inflectional forms that are used to set the time frame of the event, are difficult to produce (e.g., Clahsen & Ali, 2009;Friedmann & Grodzinsky, 1997;Gavarró & Martínez-Ferreiro, 2007;Kok et al, 2006;Kok et al, 2007;Wenzlaff & Clahsen, 2004Wieczorek et al, 2011), although in some studies agreement has found to be equally, or more impaired (e.g., Burchert et al, 2005;Lee, Milman, & Thompson, 2008). This raises several questions.…”

Aspects of time: Time reference and aspect production in Russian aphasic speakers

“…The observed similarities between the performance of non-fluent and fluent aphasic speakers are in line with findings of Jonkers and Bruin (2009) and Wieczorek, Huber, and Darkow (2011), who suggest that the ability to provide time reference by verb forms is not only compromised under the condition of left frontal brain damage (often causing non-fluent aphasia). And although information about lesion sites of aphasic speakers who participated in the present study is not available, this claim is not based solely on the assumption about the classical relationship between lesion sites and aphasia syndromes (frontal lesions being related to the non-fluent aphasia, posterior lesions leading to fluent aphasia).…”