Recovery of naming and discourse production: A bilingual anomic case study

Background: Differential language recovery in bilingual speakers with aphasia is of interest for theoretical reasons. One issue concerns the interaction between languages (L1–L2), word class (noun versus verb), and language task (naming versus discourse production in recovery). No study has examined this issue in Chinese speakers with aphasia who speak two dialects such as Cantonese and Mandarin that have different phonological and syntactic properties. Aims: We compared the patterns of confrontation naming and discourse production in YF, a Cantonese–Mandarin speaker with a chronic mild anomic aphasia after stroke. Our prediction was that there would be an interaction between the language, word class, and language task. Methods & Procedures: Naming was examined in Cantonese (L1) and Mandarin (L2) with an adaptation of the Object and Action Naming Battery (Druks & Masterson, 2000). Discourse production in L1 and L2 was analysed with the Quantitative Production Analysis (Berndt, Wayland, Rochon, Saffran, & Schwartz, 2000) and Conversation Analysis Profile for People with Aphasia (Whitworth, Perkins, & Lesser, 1997). Outcomes & Results: There were no significant differences in object and action naming or in discourse production between dialects. However there was an effect of word class on naming in L2, with object naming better than action naming in Mandarin, but not in Cantonese (L1). Conclusions: Word class had an effect on recovery in YF's less-dominant language as in other cases of bilingual aphasia. The interaction between word class and language status in a Cantonese–Mandarin speaker suggests that this pattern of recovery is robust across languages.