Lexical Knowledge and Lexical Use in Autism

Abstract

One aspect of autistic language that has been infrequently researched is vocabulary and the conceptual knowledge underpinning individual words or word types. In this descriptive study we investigate anomalous vocabulary use in a 70,000-word corpus of conversational autistic language and examine evidence that concept formation, and hence vocabulary, is abnormal in autism. Particular attention is paid to the expression of artifact and temporal concepts which some believe may develop abnormally in autism. Little evidence is found of anomalous use of artifact terms, though errors with temporal (and also spatial) expressions are relatively common. We discuss why this may be and consider several potential explanations for why underlying lexical knowledge in autism may not necessarily be reflected in lexical use.

Appendix: Coding Categories

1 Vocabulary Codes

ACT: Activities

Actions or behaviours defined by their ongoing nature and without a specified beginning or ending

e.g. weightlifting, golf, relaxation

ARF: Artifacts

Entities that exist through human agency

e.g. house, clock, War and Peace

BDP: Body parts

e.g. head, face, arm

EVT: Events

Single instances of actions, activities or behaviours with a beginning and an end.

e.g. holiday, birthday, the Russian Revolution

FDD: Food

e.g. sweets, coffee, sausage

IPS: Proper names of individuals

Includes people and animals

e.g. Uncle Gerry, Winston Churchill, Fluffy

IPC: Proper names of places

Includes inanimate entities and locations

e.g. Hampstead Heath, Marks & Spencer’s, my sister’s

NAT: Natural kinds

Entities which occur naturally, not dependent on human agency

e.g. man, apple, water

NOM: Nominal kinds

Socio-culturally defined entities not otherwise identified in the other non-natural kind subcategories listed here.

e.g. wife, chemistry, government

Not coded

Various item such as:

• colours and shapes

• abstract items like temperature, communication, silence, life, freedom

2 Spatiotemporal Codes

Space absolute

Spatial entities whose location is specified independently of the location of the speaker and/or hearer or other entities

e.g. Sheffield, Big Ben, the Rhine

Space relative

Spatial entities whose location is specified relative to the location of the speaker and/or hearer or other entities

e.g. over there, near Dallas, this finger

Time absolute

Temporal events whose location in time is specified independently of the time of the speaker’s utterance or other temporal events

e.g. 2001, February, Christmas Eve

Time relative

Temporal events whose location in time is specified relative to the time of the speaker’s utterance or other temporal events

e.g. last year, tomorrow, in two weeks’ time

3 Error Codes

ARG: Omission of obligatory clause argument

e.g. *PEN: ^ do whatever ^ want in there.

ART: Errors in the use of articles

e.g. *TOM: think it is the Europe’s biggest country.

ASP: Aspectuality errors

e.g. *GAR: I’m feel sad.

COM: Comprehension errors

e.g. *RES: when did you start liking Keith?

*PEN: very much as well.

GRR: Grammatical role errors

e.g. *GEO: in case they ever have an accident or be died.

LEX: Lexical error

e.g.*TOM: within a generation it is in difficulty of not having any at all.

(difficulty selected instead of danger)

MOD: Modality errors

e.g.*TOM: they could have declared war on Russia.

*RES: they were gonna or they could have?

*TOM: I said they were almost at war with Russia <at times> [<].

OTH: Other miscellaneous errors

e.g.*GAR: that that corders me.

PREP: Preposition error

e.g.*MAR: I went on the end of July.

PRON: Pronoun error

e.g.*MAR: I says to me [should be ‘her’]

SYN: Syntagmatic sense errors

e.g.*TIN: what be able to do it a leopard.

TIM: Time errors

e.g.*RES: can you tell me what breakfast means?

*TOM: a first meal of the day prior to waking.