Exploring Subject Markers and Object Clitics Errors in Spoken Arabic: A Case Study of Children with and without Developmental Language Disorder

Abstract

This study delves into the morphosyntactic challenges faced by Palestinian Arabic-speaking children, specifically focusing on conjugational subject markers and pronominal object clitics in those with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) compared to their typically developing language (TLD) peers. The sample comprised 54 children aged 4:6 to 6:6 years, including 30 DLD and 24 TLD individuals, who participated in a role-play game designed to elicit verb conjugations and object clitic usage. The analysis highlighted a pronounced discrepancy in morphological proficiency, where DLD children exhibited significant difficulties, particularly with second person and third-person forms, resulting in a 60% agreement accuracy compared to 99% in TLD counterparts. Qualitative and quantitative error analyses revealed a higher incidence and variety of morphosyntactic errors among DLD children, especially in subject-verb agreement and object clitic realization. These findings underscore the intricate nature of verb morphology in Arabic and its impact on children with DLD, pointing to the necessity for tailored educational and therapeutic interventions. The study advances our understanding of language acquisition in Arabic-speaking children with DLD, offering insights into the linguistic features that challenge this population and informing future research and clinical practice.