Lyn Tieu

Some grammatical properties are extremely stable across sign languages, and may arise spontaneously in homesign systems. In particular, signers refer to objects and individuals by creating locations for them in signing space, and sometimes by turning or rotating to these locations to adopt their perspectives. Both the stability and spontaneous emergence of this location-based system suggest that it might be rooted in knowledge that is core to human cognition. We show that non-signers are sensitive to non-trivial constraints on these referential locations when they are realized in gestures (Study 1, two experiments), but also when they are realized using non-gestural means, including color, shape, position, and even sound (Study 2, four experiments). The findings suggest that the sophisticated location-based referential system of sign languages might have a broader cognitive source that is not specific to the visual modality. The fact that non-signers show sensitivity to such constraints across a variety of modalities moreover suggests that even if these general biases can be grammaticalized (as they have been in sign languages), they do not have to be (as evidenced by the absence of sound-based loci in spoken languages).

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to evaluate a new structured interview tool, the Digital Dialogues Interview (DDI), which was designed to amplify the voices of 12- to 17-year-olds with communication disability by examining how and why they use social media. Method: A three-phase design was adopted. In Phase 1, the structured interview was developed. In Phase 2, a youth advisory group of young adults ( n = 4) was consulted on the project's design and materials to be used in Phase 3. In Phase 3, structured interviews with adolescents with communication disability ( n = 5), characterised by language and/or literacy difficulties, were conducted. To evaluate both the feasibility of the DDI and the challenges associated with administering it, data were gathered on the usefulness of the data collection procedures and usability of the tool. Results: The DDI posed minimal challenges for use in qualitative research with young people with communication disability. The primary theme produced through reflexive thematic analysis was that participants use social media to foster connection, while facing challenges including communication difficulties and technology issues. Conclusion: This project was an important initial step in creating a tool to investigate how and why young people with communication disability use social media. The findings informed adaptations to the DDI and research procedures, highlighting the value of thorough piloting for improving trustworthiness, the depth of data generated, and ultimately listening to the experiences of young people with communication disability.

Previous studies of children’s comprehension of the presupposition of English again and its Mandarin equivalent you (requiring that an event of the same kind previously took place) have reported successful acquisition by preschool age. Such studies have generally used tasks that require children to make binary judgments (e.g. “true”/ “false”, “yes”/“no”). However, sentences involving presupposition failure are not necessarily judged as “false” by adults, making such tasks less than optimal for assessing children’s knowledge of presuppositions. In this study, we examine Mandarin-acquiring children’s comprehension of the presupposition of you ‘again’, using two alternative tasks that target the presupposition without requiring participants to make binary judgments about sentences involving presupposition failure. In the Question-Answer Task (Experiment 1), participants listened to stories and answered a wh -question after each story. The results revealed that most children responded as though they ignored the presupposition trigger you , which highlights the methodological challenge of investigating children’s knowledge of presupposition. We then conducted a Felicity Judgment Task (Experiment 2), which highlighted the presence of the trigger by asking participants to decide which of two speakers—one who produced you and one who did not—answered better. In this task, children displayed sensitivity to the presupposition of you , albeit not at adult-like levels. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to children’s knowledge of you and its obligatory presence when its presupposition is satisfied, a potential ambiguity in its interpretation, and possible differences between children and adults in how they project presuppositions from wh -questions.

Purpose: We sought to identify the constructs and measures used to evaluate the social interaction abilities of young people (12–17 years) with communication disability, drawing from three frameworks: a taxonomy of pediatric cognitive-communication disorders, a taxonomy to describe language assessments of school-aged children, and the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Method: A scoping review was conducted, guided by the five-stage methodological framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). Ten databases were searched (CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, LLBA, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, speechBITE, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global). Results: In total, 173 peer-reviewed publications were identified and included in this review. Most papers measured the construct of pragmatics/social communication and behavior using standardized, norm-referenced, static, and decontextualized instruments that focused on the ICF's Activity component, with fewer papers evaluating young people's social interaction skills at the Participation level. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for more Participation-focused measures. Such measures could enable speech-language pathologists to support young people's development and participation in ways that are meaningful to them.

Emoji symbols are widely used in online communication, particularly in instant messaging and on social media platforms. Existing research draws comparisons between the functions of emoji and those of gestures, with recent work extending a proposed typology of gestures to emoji, arguing that different emoji types can be distinguished by their placement within the modified text and by their semantic contribution (the linguistic inferences that they give rise to). In this paper, we present four experiments designed to test the predictions of this extended typology, the results of which suggest that emoji symbols indeed trigger the hypothesised linguistic inferences. The findings provide support for a semantic typology of emoji and contribute further evidence of the parallels between gesture and emoji.

According to Horn’s (1984) Principle of Division of Pragmatic Labor, marked forms should have marked meanings. We investigate differences in the interpretation of two prosodically distinct forms of the disjunction sau in Romanian (‘A sau B’): (i) neutral rise-fall prosody, and (ii) marked rise-fall-rise prosody, where both disjuncts are stressed. Adults typically interpret disjunction inclusively (A or B, possibly both) or exclusively (A or B, but not both), while children interpret it inclusively or conjunctively (A and B), cf. Singh et al. (2016) and Tieu et al. (2017). We ask whether similar preferences hold for Romanian and probe into the understudied role of prosody. Given adults’ greater sensitivity to prosody compared to children (Gotzner et al. 2013), we predict they might associate marked sau with the marked exclusive meaning more than children do. We tested Romanian-speaking adults and 5-year-olds using a forced-choice task, in which two puppets made guesses about what would happen, using either neutral sau or marked sau. While adults preferred neutral sau to describe contexts in which both disjuncts were true and marked sau for contexts in which only one disjunct was true, children selected the two disjunctions indiscriminately. We conclude that, unlike adults, children do not distinguish between prosodically marked and unmarked forms of disjunction.

Background: Social media is increasingly used by young people, including those with communication disability. To date, though, little is known about how speech–language therapists (SLTs) support the social media use of young people with communication disability.Aims: To explore what services SLTs provide to facilitate the social media use of young people with communication disability, including what these services look like, and the factors that impact SLTs’ professional practices.Methods & Procedures: A sequential mixed methods approach was employed including an online survey and in‐depth semi‐structured interviews. Participants were qualified practising SLTs in Australia with a caseload that included clients aged 12–16 years. Quantitative data were analysed with SPSS. A thematic analysis of qualitative data was conducted with NVivo.Outcomes & Results: Survey responses from 61 SLTs were analysed. Interviews were conducted with 16 participants. Survey data indicated that SLTs do not systematically assess or treat young people's use of social media as part of their professional practice. Interview data revealed that where SLTs do support young people's use of social media, they transfer knowledge and practices typically used in offline contexts to underpin their work supporting clients’ use of social media. In terms of factors that affect SLTs’ practices, three major themes were identified: client/family factors, SLT factors, and societal factors.Conclusions & Implications: While young people with communication disability may desire digital participation in social media spaces, SLTs’ current professional practices do not routinely address this need. Professional practice guidelines would support SLTs’ practices in this area. Future research should seek the opinions of young people with communication disability regarding their use of social media, and the role of SLTs in facilitating this.WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Young people with communication disability use social media, but digital inequality means that they may not do so to the same extent as their typically developing peers. Services targeting a young person's social media use is within the SLT scope of practice. Whether or not SLTs routinely address the social media use of young people with communication disability as part of their professional practice is unknown.What this study adds to existing knowledge: This study found that SLTs in Australia do not systematically provide professional services targeting young people's use of social media. When services do address a young person's use of social media, knowledge and practices typically used by SLTs in offline contexts are adapted to support their work targeting online social media contexts.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This study indicates that SLTs should consider a range of factors when deciding whether to address a young person's social media use. Adapting existing offline professional practices to online environments could support SLTs’ work in providing services targeting social media use. Professional practice guidelines would support SLTs’ work facilitating the social media use of young people with communication disability.