Default strategy used by Broca’s Aphasic patient during a sentence comprehension
List of Authors
  • Deepa Visvanathan

Keyword
  • Default Strategy, Trace Deletion Hypothesis (TDH), Broca’s Aphasic, Sentence Comprehension, Sentence to Picture Matching Test

Abstract
  • This paper reports on a study on the use of default strategy by Broca’s aphasic patient during a speech comprehension using sentence to picture matching test. The test was undertaken at The National Stroke Association of Malaysia (NASAM), Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The current study employs the theory of Grodzinsky’s (1990) Trace Deletion Hypothesis (TDH) as an explanation for the Broca aphasic patient’s ability to comprehend active and passive sentences using a default strategy. TDH also characterises Broca aphasic patient as a good comprehender of active sentences and as a bad comprehender of passive sentences. Christensen’s (2001) Sentence to Picture Matching Test has been adopted in this study to investigate the Broca aphasic patient’s comprehensibility of both active and passive sentences. The findings of this study support the account of TDH in which Broca’s aphasic patient has been using the default strategy during their active and passive sentences comprehension process and due to the usage of the strategy, the patient is considered as a good comprehender of active sentences and a bad comprehender of passive sentences. The default strategy used by the Broca’s aphasic patient has affected their understanding of the sentence structures overall.

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