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Structure and Repair in Narratives of Mentally Retarded Adults
Author(s) -
Kernan Keith T.,
Sabsay Sharon,
Schneider Phyllis
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of linguistic anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.463
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1548-1395
pISSN - 1055-1360
DOI - 10.1525/jlin.1991.1.2.143
Subject(s) - mentally retarded , narrative , psychology , cognition , developmental psychology , art , literature , psychiatry
Narratives by mentally retarded and nonretarded adults of a short film were compared in terms of the structure they exhibited and the self‐initiated repairs they contained. The mentally retarded speakers produced shorter narratives and made relatively more repairs. However, their narratives were story‐like in their structure, and their self‐initiated repairs were similar to those made by the nonretarded speakers. These results were interpreted as indications of underlying cognitive abilities.