Linguistic development of a child with a congenital, localised l.h. lesion

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents findings from a longitudinal, naturalistic study of knowledge of formal aspects of Hebrew grammar, in a child with a congenital, localised brain-lesion in the left hemisphere. Such knowledge assumes familiarity with aspects of language that are often independent of meaning considerations. The questions that are addressed concern the plasticity of the brain hemispheres early in life. The findings suggest that, with respect to inflectional morphology, and to certain aspects of syntax, the child was developing in a normal way, despite the massive L.H. lesion. This was interpreted as supporting the plasticity model and the “linguistic approach” to language acquisition.