Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:33:32.797Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter Four - Aphasia and the Bilingual Brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2023

John W. Schwieter
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario
Julia Festman
Affiliation:
University College of Teacher Education Tyrol
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we review work on a range of bilingual aphasias – the language impairments that occur due to a lesion or atrophy in the brain. We begin the chapter by discussing two theoretical approaches, namely the localizationist and dynamic accounts, which explain the extent to which one or both languages are affected. We see that the severity and type of aphasia that result from a lesion depends on its size and location. Additionally, a number of other nonlesion factors can affect the severity of the resulting aphasia. The premorbid variables that have been most studied are frequency of language use, AoA, and L2 proficiency. We then address how bilinguals are assessed for aphasia (e.g., the Bilingual Aphasia Test), and the possibilities for treatment and recovery. In this regard, the following important questions are discussed: In which language(s) should treatment be provided and what are the differential outcomes? If rehabilitation is given in only one language, is there cross-language generalization to the language not treated? We conclude that the most common pattern is parallel recovery in which both languages improve at a similar rate.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Paradis, M. (1995). Aspects of bilingual aphasia. Emerald.Google Scholar
Paradis, M., & Libben, G. (1987). The assessment of bilingual aphasia. Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Weeks, B. (2010). Issues in bilingual aphasia [Special issue], Aphasiology, 24(2).Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×