Publisher's Synopsis
Clinical Linguistics is a sub-discipline of linguistics that involves the application of linguistic theory to the field of Speech-Language Pathology. Clinical linguistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the use of linguistics to describe, analyze, and treat language disabilities. The study of linguistic aspect of communication disorders is of relevance to a broader understanding of language and linguistic theory. Linguistics being a science, which studies the structure of languages, has its full potentiality over each and every human being's life. It is like; life without language for a human is life less. In recent years, some remarkable growth has taken place in our knowledge and management of language and speech disorders in children and adults. Medical disciplines have been working a lot for past two decades to identify, assess and to remediate these problems. Also theoretical developments in linguistics and its applications have been utilized for the study of speech and language disorders, by clinicians during past decade. This applied study of linguistics with medical discipline is useful for the diagnosis and treatment of language and speech disorders. Clinical Linguistics deals with all types of speech and language disorders found in the development or use of the knowledge of language. It shows the breakdown in the development of language abilities on the usual developmental schedule. On the subject of the descriptions of disorders, there is a great need for descriptive case studies of the language of disordered people. Also normative models of language development are must to describe the delay found in child language acquisition, which can be provided only by a linguist. Regarding intervention, the linguist's role is to help the clinician in planning the linguistic interventions if needed and to monitor the outcome of intervention over a period of time. It is the role a linguist to investigate the language behavior of the intervention provider, teaching materials used, and the environment of intervention provided, as it also can modify the outcome. So speech-language pathologist has to coordinately work with a psychologist and linguist for the assessment and to provide Remedial measures. Clinical Linguistics- Theory and Applications covers different aspects of speech and language pathology and it provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the complexity and the emerging importance of the field, by identifying and re-examining, from different perspectives, a number of standard assumptions in clinical linguistics and in cognitive sciences. The studies encompass different issues in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, discussed with respect to deafness, stuttering, child acquisition and impairments.
