Widmer Beierlein, Sandra (2023). Varietätenwahl in der Schweizer Aphasiediagnostik. (Thesis). Universität Bern, Bern
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Abstract
Dialects are spoken all over the world and yet have received only scant attention in aphasiology. In the German-speaking part of Switzerland, dialects enjoy high prestige and are preferred for informal communication among Swiss, while High German is used for written and formal communication. In sociolinguistic studies from German-speaking Switzerland, various functions of code-switching (CS) were also found, which differed according to role and direction. The role of a person in institutional settings, such as the therapist or person with aphasia (PWA), could therefore also affect variety choice. In aphasia testing, the ICF biopsychosocial model is widely used to describe limitations and resources and also includes the everyday life of PWA via the levels of activity and participation as well as environmental factors. In the German-speaking part of Switzerland, dialect is preferred for aphasia testing, but at the same time, due to a lack of alternatives, standardised tests from Germany are also used. This could lead to a discrepancy between test and everyday language. In the present dissertation project, this initial situation led to the question of whether the choice of variety in aphasia diagnostics is made according to certain sociolinguistic and clinical criteria or randomly. Three studies on variety choice were conducted to investigate whether the sociolinguistic factors formality and role as well as the clinical factors subtest, test item, linguistic complexity and test fidelity can have an influence on variety choice. The studies are based on eleven videotaped test administrations for aphasia testing. Nine different therapists (eight women, one man) and 11 PWA (two women, nine men) participated. The transcripts of the test procedures were coded according to diagnostic part (conversation, instruction, transition, test item, help, feedback/comment) and variety (dialect, High German, utterance with CS) and quantitatively analysed in a descriptive manner. In the first study, dialect dominates in both formal and informal diagnostic parts, but High German is used most frequently in the formal diagnostic part "test items", compared to other diagnostic parts. This shows that sociolinguistic factors such as formality and role can have an influence on variety choice. The results of the second study show that sub-tests with high linguistic complexity are increasingly conducted in High German, while the others are translated into dialect, if translation is possible. Thus, it can be assumed that both test fidelity and the activity/participation advocated by the ICF may influence the variety choice of a subtest. The third study investigated the functions and direction of CS in speech and language therapists and PWA. Here it is shown that CS is intended by both speech therapists and PWA and can take on different functions. Accordingly, the variety changes take place according to clinical and sociolinguistic rules. The results of all three studies indicate that the choice of variety in aphasia testing is to a large extent rule-governed in the test procedures examined. By combining clinical and sociolinguistic approaches, these rules can be described and made theoretically and practically useful. Theoretical implications are, for example, an extended description of the sociolinguistic functions of variety choice in German-speaking Switzerland and a deeper understanding of diglossic aphasias. A multidisciplinary perspective can also contribute to a differentiated, participatory understanding of people with aphasia in clinical practice by preventing the unnecessary pathologisation of aphasic language.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Dissertation Type: | Single |
| Date of Defense: | 1 March 2023 |
| Subjects: | 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology 400 Language > 430 German & related languages 800 Literature, rhetoric & criticism > 830 German & related literatures |
| Institute / Center: | 06 Faculty of Humanities |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Stalder |
| Date Deposited: | 23 May 2025 12:32 |
| Last Modified: | 23 May 2025 22:25 |
| URI: | https://boristheses.unibe.ch/id/eprint/6200 |
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