Syntax: C-Unit Segmentation 1.1

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One of the greatest challenges of the speech pathologist is mastering the skill of analyzing oral speech samples. This task requires proficiency in parsing language samples into units, e.g., phonological units, T-Units, C-Units. This exercise will help you develop the skills necessary for segmenting speech samples into Communication Units, or C-Units, which involves knowledge of basic syntactic structures.

A C-Unit is a main clause, its modifiers, and subordinate clauses embedded within the main clause. Since subordinate clauses cannot exist on their own, they are included as part of a C-Unit. Sentences which are composed of two complete or independent clauses are parsed into two C-Units. In both cases, one of two types of conjunction is used to link clauses.

Coordinating conjunctions link two main clauses (two C-Units). Examples of these include conjunctions such as and, or, but, so, etc.

This sentence is parsed as two C-Units.

Anna cleaned her room.
And then she went for a bike ride.

Subordinating conjunctions link main and subordinating clauses.

(2) Anna cleaned her room when her mother asked her to.

This sentence is parsed as one C-Unit, since the subordinate clause cannot stand on its own.
1. Anna cleaned her room when her mother asked her to.

The following excerpt is from an elicited story-telling narrative from a 7-year-old female. Read it in its entirety, then respond to the questions below.

Black Beauty grows up my first home which I can remember was a sweet meadow and there was a pond beside it where we drank water and a master an old man was very kind my mother’s name was duchess in the in the summer we stayed out and ran together and when it was cold there was a big warm shed that we could go in there was a lot of fighting and kicking and my mother called to me and said ”now I do not think you have ever seen me bite or kick I know the other colts are very good colts but they are cart horses so they have not been bred like you have and I hope you never grow up to learn bad ways your your your your grandfather won the trophy the cup from a from a great race: about two years ago and your grandmother had the sweetest voice I ever heard” and I never forgot my mother’s words one day we were playing again and we saw a boy that worked for our master who threw sticks and stones at us when we ran by and he didn’t know that the master was on the other hill the master saw him and came over and beat him and said “you are a bad boy and don’t treat animals like that” and….: He said that he could not work with him anymore.--

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Question 1

in the (in the) summer we stayed out and ran together is composed of two independent clauses, thus two C-Units.

A	False
B	True Hint: This is a single independent clause that has a compound verb ‘stayed out and ran’, thus counts as one C-Unit.

Question 2

and there was a pond beside it where we drank water consists of one C-Unit.

A	True
B	False Hint: This is a single C-Unit composed of an independent clause ‘there was a pond’ with a dependent clause attached to it ‘where we drank water’.

Question 3

and we saw a boy that worked for our master who threw sticks and stones at us when we ran by consists of two C-Units.

- and we saw a boy that worked for our master who threw sticks and stones at us

- when we ran by

True

Hint:

This utterance is one C-Unit which is composed of a main clause and 3 dependent clauses. The main, independent clause is ‘and we saw a boy’. The three independent clauses are, - that worked for our master - who threw sticks and stones at us - when we ran by the first two of which modify the noun ‘boy’. The third ‘as we ran by’ serves as an adjectival modifier of the verb ‘threw’.

False

Question 4

and do not treat animals like that is not a complete C-Unit.

A	True Hint: This is a complete C-Unit since it is an imperative sentence with the subject ‘you’ deleted. The second conjunction ‘and’ is abandoned, thus does not count as a C-Unit.
B	False

Question 5

He said that he could not work with him anymore consists of one C-Unit.

A	True
B	False Hint: This is two clauses (since there are two verbs) with the main clause being ‘he said’ and the quote ‘that he could not work with him anymore ‘ being the dependent clause.

Question 6

and the master saw him and came over and beat him is counted as two C-Units.

A	False
B	True Hint: This clause is a single C-Unit since the subject ‘the master’ carries out the action of each of the verbs ‘saw’, ‘came’, and ‘beat’.

Question 7

my first home which I can remember was a sweet meadow is composed of 2 C-Units.

A	False
B	True Hint: This clause is one C-Unit composed of a main clause ‘my first home was a sweet meadow’, with the dependent (relative) clause ‘which I can remember’ attached to it.

Question 8

and my mother called to me and said “now I do not think you have ever seen me bite or kick” is two C-Units.

A	True Hint: Although there are two clauses, this is counted as one C-Unit since ‘and my mother called to me and said’ is the introducer to the quote, ‘called and said’ is a compound verb.
B	False

Question 9

but they are cart horses is a dependent clause, thus cannot be counted as a C-Unit.

A	True Hint: This clause begins with a coordinating conjunction, which is introducing an independent clause consisting of a subject and a verb, thus is counted as a C-Unit.
B	False

Question 10

and a master an old man was very kind is a fragment thus cannot be considered a C-Unit.

A	False
B	True Hint: This is an independent clause with an appositive ‘an old man’ which simply gives more information about the master, thus is a C-Unit.

Question 11

Black Beauty grows up is a C-Unit.

A	True
B	False Hint: It is an independent clause that functions like a title, thus is a complete C-Unit.

Question 12

my mother’s name was duchess is an independent clause, thus counts as a C-Unit.

A	True
B	False Hint: This clause is independent since it has a subject and verb and communicates a complete thought, thus counts as a C-Unit.

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Syntax: C-Unit Segmentation 1.1

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