| In this dissertation, I examine the worldview formed by students with language-impairment. I explore the ways in which their lack of access to language impacts the way in which they view themselves and their relationship to the world. I seek to find if the perceptions of the students with language-impairment differ significantly from that of students without language impairment. To what extent does language impact the ways in which people perceive themselves and their relationship to the world?;I examine the notion of linguistic relativity, which explains that perceptions of the world vary from culture to culture and that this difference of perception is reflected in the language of a culture. Additionally, I explore the theory of linguistic determinism, which states that the language that we use affects how we think, in a profound way.;Using Roland Barthes' views on semiology and Judith Williamson's analytical model for analyzing visual material, I analyze drawings done by the students with and without language-impairment. Williamson examines the ideological function of visual images and the ways in which individuals perpetuate ideologies. In doing so, she develops a way of analyzing what she sees in images, particularly signifiers, their connotations, and the way they are juxtaposed in the images. Barthes was a leading exponent of semiology, the science of signs and symbols. He uses this science to explore the manner in which myth is constructed and how myth conveys meaning. He looks at how symbols are combined with archetypes to create, and perpetuate, myths.;I conclude that there are significant differences between the drawings of the students with language-impairment and the drawings of the students without language-impairment, and thus argue for some form of linguistic determinism. |
