Clinical Linguistics

Clinical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that is focused on analyzing and treating issues related to speech and language impairment. Both speech and language disorders are treated as separate areas of analysis and treatment under clinical linguistics. The area of language impairment includes analysis and treatment of disorders where the … Keep Reading → normal language development process breaks down. Examples include mental retardation and autism. The area of speech disorders includes problems relating to the mechanical processes of speech. Speech disorders are further divided into articulation disorders, which include issues such as tongue or soft palate problems and fluency disorders which are when the fluency and pace of speech are impacted. Stuttering is an example of a fluency disorder. Part of the challenge of the clinical linguist is isolating all of the criteria that specifically relate to the issues of speech and language impairment from the other symptoms that the underlying cause presents.