Original Research
The Translated Echolalia of a Bilingual Child with Autism
South African Journal of Communication Disorders | Vol 47, No 2 | a986 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v47i2.986
| © 2023 Gill Shaw-Ridley, Heila Jordaan, Nosisi Jenga
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 24 March 2023 | Published: 31 December 2000
Submitted: 24 March 2023 | Published: 31 December 2000
About the author(s)
Gill Shaw-Ridley, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Witwatersrand, South AfricaHeila Jordaan, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Nosisi Jenga, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Full Text:
PDF (2MB)Abstract
This study investigated the phenomenon of translated echolalia in a bilingual child with autism, who was between the ages of 7, 11 and 8,2 years at the time of the study. She presented with instances of echolalia that were direct translations from her first language (Sotho) to her second language (English). In order to explore this phenomenon the subject's use of and proficiency in each language is described. The language assessment included an analysis of her receptive language, pragmatic ability, the language of her responses and an analysis of he': echolalic responses (including her translated echolalia). Furthermore, a cognitive processing profile was obtained in order to determine how this related to her first and second language abilities. Moreover, her theory of mind / perspective-taking ability was assessed as her language selection and translated echolalia suggested poor communicative sensitivity. A model is presented to explain the phenomenon of translated echolalia in this child and the extent to which translation involves the conceptual/semantic system is discussed. It is suggested that under certain conditions translation may occur at a lexical rather than a semantic/conceptual level.
Keywords
bilingualism; translation; autism; echolalia; theory of mind; cognitive processing
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