The subject/object relative clause asymmetry in hearing-impaired children: evidence from a comprehension task.

Abstract

We investigated the comprehension of subject and object relative clauses in
\nhearing-impaired (HI) children using a cochlear implant compared to that
\nof hearing children, by using an agent selection task. We show that HI
\nchildren performed significantly poorer than their typically-developing
\npeers. Despite their low performance, HI children show nonetheless a
\ntypical gradient of difficulty, with subject relatives (OS) easier to
\ncomprehend than object relatives with preverbal subject (OO) and these
\nlatter are easier than object relatives with postverbal subject (OOp). These
\nasymmetries are explained in terms of some recent minimalist proposals on
\nlocality theory and on the fragility of Agreement occurring with postverbal
\nsubjects. A correlation between performance on OOp and digit span tasks
\nwas found only in the HI group.