Self-initiated Repair by Fluent Aphasic Speakers in Conversation
Description:... People with fluent aphasia have problems both in speaking and in understanding spoken language. Typically, their speech is replete with such errors where sounds shift, words blend, or, in the most severe cases, utterances are formed of non-existing words that sound like, but are not words of, the speaker's language. Furthermore, due to their comprehension disorder, fluent aphasics are generally considered to be unaware of the errors in their speech. Taking this into account, what form do the conversations of these speakers take? Which aphasic features trouble the conversation and how are the problems repaired? Or, are they? If fluent aphasics are not aware of their errors, why should they repair anything. This study aims to provide some new insights into fluent aphasia by looking at conversation and at self-repair in particular. The study explores the ways in which fluent aphasics deal with their aphasic speech problems in the presence of other interlocutors in conversation. In this task, the classic description of repair organisation in ordinary conversation is applied to aphasic data. The core of the work is an analysis of self-initiation and the process of repair in the speaking turn of the fluent aphasic speaker, as well as an investigation of the interaction between the aphasic and the recipient during such turns. The analysis starts by identifying aphasic word forms that may trouble the interaction, and looks at their local conversational context. In particular, the position of different aphasic words in an utterance or a turn is examined with respect to whether they are followed by self-initiation of repair. In addition, the point directly after the initiation of the repair process is inspected for the kind of actions the speaker takes and for the reactions of co-participants during the course of progressing self-repair.
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