Clinical Linguistics

Abstract

Clinical linguistics is the application of linguistic concepts, theories, and methods to the study of language disorders. These disorders can result from impairment of, or breakdown in, one or more of the following language components: prosody, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and discourse. Some language disorders have their onset in the developmental period (developmental language disorders), while others occur for the first time in late childhood and adulthood (acquired language disorders). Language disorders can compromise the reception or understanding of language and/or its expression or production, with impairments possible across a range of modalities (spoken, written, and signed language). This branch of linguistics is inextricably linked to speech-language pathology (also known as speech and language therapy in the United Kingdom), the clinical discipline responsible for the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of clients with a range of communication disorders (and not just language disorders). However, clinical linguistics is nonetheless a distinct linguistic discipline that is not in any way subsumed by speech-language pathology. In addition to having a detailed knowledge of linguistic disciplines, the speech-language pathologist must understand a range of medical conditions and their likely impact on language skills in children and adults.