Fauzia Abdalla

Verb morphology deficits in Arabic-speaking children with specific language impairment

This paper explores tense and agreement marking in the spontaneous production of verbs in Arabic-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and two groups of typically developing children: one group matched for mean length of utterance, and the other group matched for age. The special characteristics of Arabic such as its rich bound morphology, intricate verb system, null subject properties, and lack of an infinitival form make it particularly valuable for determining universal versus language-specific aspects of SLI. The results indicate that the Arabic-speaking participants with SLI had obvious problems with verb morphology. They were significantly different from the two comparison groups of children on the percentage of correct use of tense and subject–verb agreement forms. Furthermore, when an error in verbal infection occurred, the substitute form was often an imperative form. The findings are examined in light of cross-linguistic research pertaining to the nature of the SLI deficit and its relationship with typical language learning.

Plural Noun Inflection in Kuwaiti Arabic-Speaking Children with and without Specific Language Impairment.

This study examined the production of three types of noun plural inflections, feminine sound plural (FSP), masculine sound plural (MSP), and broken plural (BP) in Kuwaiti Arabic-speaking children with and without language impairment. A total of thirty-six Kuwaiti participants - twelve adults, twelve children with specific language impairment (SLI), and twelve typically developing age-matched controls (TD) were presented with twenty-seven pictured stimuli of real and nonsense words. The results showed that the TD children were significantly more accurate in using the required noun plural inflections than the SLI group. The TD childrens preferred overgeneralization strategy was to substitute FSP for the regular MSP and irregular BP contexts much more than their peers with SLI. The performance of the SLI group also differed from that of their age-matched counterparts in the number of errors and their distribution across categories. The results are discussed in the light of relevant theories of atypical language development.

Stuttering and lexical category in adult Arabic speakers.

The purpose of this study was to test whether the content and function word dichotomy of speech disfluency found in English-speaking adults who stutter (AWS) was evident in a language other than English. A group of adult Arabic-speaking AWS were sampled across spontaneous speaking, oral reading, and single-word naming tasks. Moments of disfluency were identified and examined in regard to lexical category. Results indicated no significant differences in the amount of disfluency occurring on content and function words. The production of combined content-function words, a unique feature of the Arabic language, was associated with a high level of disfluency. The linguistic bases of stuttering are discussed in regard to language-specific influences.

The relationship between awareness of intellectual disability, causal and intervention beliefs and social distance in Kuwait and the UK

Evidence on lay beliefs and stigma associated with intellectual disability in an Arab context is almost non-existent. This study examined awareness of intellectual disability, causal and intervention beliefs and social distance in Kuwait. These were compared to a UK sample to examine differences in lay conceptions across cultures. 537 university students in Kuwait and 571 students in the UK completed a web-based survey asking them to respond to a diagnostically unlabelled vignette of a man presenting with symptoms of mild intellectual disability. They rated their agreement with 22 causal items as possible causes for the difficulties depicted in the vignette, the perceived helpfulness of 22 interventions, and four social distance items using a 7-point Likert scale. Only 8% of Kuwait students, yet 33% of UK students identified possible intellectual disability in the vignette. Medium to large differences between the two samples were observed on seven of the causal items, and 10 of the intervention items. Against predictions, social distance did not differ. Causal beliefs mediated the relationship between recognition of intellectual disability and social distance, but their mediating role differed by sample. The findings are discussed in relation to cultural practices and values, and in relation to attribution theory. In view of the apparent positive effect of awareness of the symptoms of intellectual disability on social distance, both directly and through the mediating effects of causal beliefs, promoting increased awareness of intellectual disability and inclusive practices should be a priority, particularly in countries such as Kuwait where it appears to be low.

Developmental changes in using nominal number inflections in Kuwaiti Arabic

The acquisition of dual and plural nominal marking was examined. Forty-four Kuwaiti Arabic-speaking children aged 4–9 years were presented with a set of pictured stimuli of real and nonsense words and were asked to provide the plural and dual form. The results showed that Feminine Sound Plural (FSP) was used early on and more frequently than the Masculine Sound Plural (MSP) and the Broken Plural (BP). FSP was noticeably employed as the default form by younger children before differentiation gained ground, and it was often overgeneralized to MSP and BP. The children showed higher accuracy in using the dual than the plural forms. Finally, young children tended to use non-conventional ways to express number marking before acquiring target forms.

Perceptions of voice disorders: a survey of Arab adults.

Abstract A disordered voice may lead to social stigma as well as reduced occupational opportunities. Much of the research on this topic has investigated the effects of voice disorders from a Western perspective. The societal attitudes of international populations toward people with voice disorders (PWVD) are less well known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of adults living in Kuwait toward PWVD. Participants completed a questionnaire that addressed social, educational, and occupational aspects of life for PWVD. The results indicated that while Kuwaiti adults hold generally positive attitudes toward PWVD, they may also perceive PWVD as more likely to be emotionally disturbed, have difficulty making friends or getting married, and experience trouble in finding a good job.

Attitudes of Arab university students and general public towards people who stutter

Abstract Speech-language pathology is a burgeoning field in many Arab countries, including Kuwait. While a small number of studies have investigated Kuwaiti attitudes toward stuttering and people who stutter (PWS), no such studies have been conducted with a broad sampling of the general public. In this study, a modified version of Bebout and Arthurs (1992) questionnaire to measure attitudes toward communication disorders was adapted into Arabic and administered to 943 university students and adult members of the general population living in Kuwait. Results indicated that attitudes toward stuttering and PWS in Kuwait are generally positive, though negative trends were observed for some items related to the perceived causes and traits of stuttering as well as vocational/societal inclusion of PWS. The findings indicate that members of the general public in Kuwait and other Arab countries could benefit from increased knowledge of stuttering and how to interact with PWS. Speech-language pathologists and PWS who conduct public awareness campaigns in these countries may find it prudent to adopt educational strategies, which are specific to their target populations.