scholarly journals Referring strategies in American Sign Language and English (with co-speech gesture): The role of modality in referring to non-nameable objects

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 961-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZED SEVCIKOVA SEHYR ◽  
BRENDA NICODEMUS ◽  
JENNIFER PETRICH ◽  
KAREN EMMOREY
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Language Modality

ABSTRACTAmerican Sign Language (ASL) and English differ in linguistic resources available to express visual–spatial information. In a referential communication task, we examined the effect of language modality on the creation and mutual acceptance of reference to non-nameable figures. In both languages, description times reduced over iterations and references to the figures’ geometric properties (“shape-based reference”) declined over time in favor of expressions describing the figures’ resemblance to nameable objects (“analogy-based reference”). ASL signers maintained a preference for shape-based reference until the final (sixth) round, while English speakers transitioned toward analogy-based reference by Round 3. Analogy-based references were more time efficient (associated with shorter round description times). Round completion times were longer for ASL than for English, possibly due to gaze demands of the task and/or to more shape-based descriptions. Signers’ referring expressions remained unaffected by figure complexity while speakers preferred analogy-based expressions for complex figures and shape-based expressions for simple figures. Like speech, co-speech gestures decreased over iterations. Gestures primarily accompanied shape-based references, but listeners rarely looked at these gestures, suggesting that they were recruited to aid the speaker rather than the addressee. Overall, different linguistic resources (classifier constructions vs. geometric vocabulary) imposed distinct demands on referring strategies in ASL and English.

People Are Less Susceptible to Illusion When They Use Their Hands to Communicate Rather Than Estimate

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762199155
Author(s):  
Amanda R. Brown ◽  
Wim Pouw ◽  
Diane Brentari ◽  
Susan Goldin-Meadow
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Estimation Task ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Lyer Illusion ◽  
Description Task ◽  
The Way

When we use our hands to estimate the length of a stick in the Müller-Lyer illusion, we are highly susceptible to the illusion. But when we prepare to act on sticks under the same conditions, we are significantly less susceptible. Here, we asked whether people are susceptible to illusion when they use their hands not to act on objects but to describe them in spontaneous co-speech gestures or conventional sign languages of the deaf. Thirty-two English speakers and 13 American Sign Language signers used their hands to act on, estimate the length of, and describe sticks eliciting the Müller-Lyer illusion. For both gesture and sign, the magnitude of illusion in the description task was smaller than the magnitude of illusion in the estimation task and not different from the magnitude of illusion in the action task. The mechanisms responsible for producing gesture in speech and sign thus appear to operate not on percepts involved in estimation but on percepts derived from the way we act on objects.

scholarly journals Second Language Working Memory Deficits and Plasticity in Hearing Bimodal Learners of Sign Language

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Williams ◽  
Isabelle Darcy ◽  
Sharlene Newman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Visuospatial Sketchpad ◽  
Language Modality

AbstractLittle is known about the acquisition of another language modality on second language (L2) working memory (WM) capacity. Differential indexing within the WM system based on language modality may explain differences in performance on WM tasks in sign and spoken language. We investigated the effect of language modality (sign versus spoken) on L2 WM capacity. Results indicated reduced L2 WM span relative to first language span for both L2 learners of Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL). Importantly, ASL learners had lower L2 WM spans than Spanish learners. Additionally, ASL learners increased their L2 WM spans as a function of proficiency, whereas Spanish learners did not. This pattern of results demonstrated that acquiring another language modality disadvantages ASL learners. We posited that this disadvantage arises out of an inability to correctly and efficiently allocate linguistic information to the visuospatial sketchpad due to L1-related indexing bias.

Amodal phonology

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
IRIS BERENT ◽  
OUTI BAT-EL ◽  
DIANE BRENTARI ◽  
QATHERINE ANDAN ◽  
VERED VAKNIN-NUSBAUM
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Knowledge Of Language ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
Do So

Does knowledge of language transfer spontaneously across language modalities? For example, do English speakers, who have had no command of a sign language, spontaneously project grammatical constraints from English to linguistic signs? Here, we address this question by examining the constraints on doubling. We first demonstrate that doubling (e.g. panana; generally: ABB) is amenable to two conflicting parses (identity vs. reduplication), depending on the level of analysis (phonology vs. morphology). We next show that speakers with no command of a sign language spontaneously project these two parses to novel ABB signs in American Sign Language. Moreover, the chosen parse (for signs) is constrained by the morphology of spoken language. Hebrew speakers can project the morphological parse when doubling indicates diminution, but English speakers only do so when doubling indicates plurality, in line with the distinct morphological properties of their spoken languages. These observations suggest that doubling in speech and signs is constrained by a common set of linguistic principles that are algebraic, amodal and abstract.

scholarly journals The Biology of Linguistic Expression Impacts Neural Correlates for Spatial Language

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Emmorey ◽  
Stephen McCullough ◽  
Sonya Mehta ◽  
Laura L. B. Ponto ◽  
Thomas J. Grabowski
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Spatial Language ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Object Type ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Native Signers

Biological differences between signed and spoken languages may be most evident in the expression of spatial information. PET was used to investigate the neural substrates supporting the production of spatial language in American Sign Language as expressed by classifier constructions, in which handshape indicates object type and the location/motion of the hand iconically depicts the location/motion of a referent object. Deaf native signers performed a picture description task in which they overtly named objects or produced classifier constructions that varied in location, motion, or object type. In contrast to the expression of location and motion, the production of both lexical signs and object type classifier morphemes engaged left inferior frontal cortex and left inferior temporal cortex, supporting the hypothesis that unlike the location and motion components of a classifier construction, classifier handshapes are categorical morphemes that are retrieved via left hemisphere language regions. In addition, lexical signs engaged the anterior temporal lobes to a greater extent than classifier constructions, which we suggest reflects increased semantic processing required to name individual objects compared with simply indicating the type of object. Both location and motion classifier constructions engaged bilateral superior parietal cortex, with some evidence that the expression of static locations differentially engaged the left intraparietal sulcus. We argue that bilateral parietal activation reflects the biological underpinnings of sign language. To express spatial information, signers must transform visual–spatial representations into a body-centered reference frame and reach toward target locations within signing space.

Looking for Frogs in the Narrative Stream: Global and Local Relations in Maternal Narratives

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina L. McIntire ◽  
Judy Reilly
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Children's Attention ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Global Relations

Abstract In this study, we compared storytelling of a pictured narrative, Frog, Where Are You?, by 6 Deaf and 6 hearing mothers in American Sign Language (ASL) and in English, respectively. How do these mothers construct their stories, that is, how do they mark episodes? And how do English-speakers' strategies differ from ASL-users' strategies? We found that stories in ASL contained more explicit markers to signal both local and global relations of the narrative. Because of modality and grammatical differences between English and ASL, Deaf mothers seemed to have more strategies available to use. Although the overall pattern of use throughout the story was similar, Deaf mothers appeared to be more "dramatic" in their storytelling than were hearing mothers. Both groups of parents used a variety of markers to call their children's attention to the theme of the story. (Psychology)

scholarly journals Visual-Spatial Perspective-Taking in Spatial Scenes and in American Sign Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Secora ◽  
Karen Emmorey
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Reproduction Task ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
Comprehension Test ◽  
Mental Transformation ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Spatial Perspective Taking

Abstract As spatial languages, sign languages rely on spatial cognitive processes that are not involved for spoken languages. Interlocutors have different visual perspectives of the signer’s hands requiring a mental transformation for successful communication about spatial scenes. It is unknown whether visual-spatial perspective-taking (VSPT) or mental rotation (MR) abilities support signers’ comprehension of perspective-dependent American Sign Language (ASL) structures. A total of 33 deaf ASL adult signers completed tasks examining nonlinguistic VSPT ability, MR ability, general ASL proficiency (ASL-Sentence Reproduction Task [ASL-SRT]), and an ASL comprehension test involving perspective-dependent classifier constructions (the ASL Spatial Perspective Comprehension Test [ASPCT] test). Scores on the linguistic (ASPCT) and VSPT tasks positively correlated with each other and both correlated with MR ability; however, VSPT abilities predicted linguistic perspective-taking better than did MR ability. ASL-SRT scores correlated with ASPCT accuracy (as both require ASL proficiency) but not with VSPT scores. Therefore, the ability to comprehend perspective-dependent ASL classifier constructions relates to ASL proficiency and to nonlinguistic VSPT and MR abilities.

Pragmatic and Linguistic Constraints on Message Formulation

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1346-1361
Author(s):  
Paula M. Brown ◽  
Susan D. Fischer ◽  
Wynne Janis
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Hearing Status ◽  
Linguistic Constraints ◽  
Production Decision

This study provides a cross-linguistic replication, using American Sign Language (ASL), of the Brown and Dell (1987) finding that when relaying an action involving an instrument, English speakers are more likely to explicitly mention the instrument if it is atypically, rather than typically, used to accomplish that action. Subjects were 20 hearing-impaired users of English and 20 hearing-impaired users of ASL. Each subject read and retold, in either English or ASL, 20 short stories. Analyses of the stories revealed production decision differences between ASL and English, but no differences related to hearing status. In ASL, there is more explicitness, and importance seems to play a more pivotal role in instrument specification. The results are related to differences in the typology of English and ASL and are discussed with regard to secondlanguage learning and translation

scholarly journals Sign Language Research and Linguistic Theory

1986 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Evans
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Structural Levels

Linguistic theory has traditionally defined language in terms of speech and has, as a result, labelled sign languages as non-linguistic systems. Recent advances in sign language linguistic research, however, indicate that modern linguistic theory must include sign language research and theory. This paper examines the historical bias linguistic theory has maintained towards sign languages and refutes the classification of sign languages as contrived artificial systems by surveying current linguistic research into American Sign Language. The growing body of American Sign Language research demonstrates that a signed language can have all the structural levels of spoken language despite its visual-spatial mode. This research also indicates that signed languages are an important source of linguistic data that can help further develop a cognitive linguistic theory.

scholarly journals Performance in an ASL Boundary Perception Task Using Naturalistic Stimuli

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Kate Mesh
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Subject Group ◽  
Perception Task

This study compares the performance of two groups on an American Sign Language (ASL) perception task. Twenty-two L1 signers of ASL and twelve sign-naive English speakers watched a filmed lecture in ASL and pressed a response pad to identify "natural breaks" in the signing. Responses from each subject group were analyzed into agreement clusters--time slices of up to 2 seconds in which a substantial percentage of participants identified a boundary. Comparison of the response patterns of signers and non-signers revealed a one-way implication between signer agreement clusters and non-signer agreement clusters. That is, where signers agreed about the location of a boundary, non-signers did as well, but it was not the case that non-signer agreement about a boundary was a predictor that signers would identify the same boundary.

Community-Engaged Needs Assessment of Deaf American Sign Language Users in Florida, 2018

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110267
Author(s):  
Tyler G. James ◽  
Michael M. McKee ◽  
Meagan K. Sullivan ◽  
Glenna Ashton ◽  
Stephen J. Hardy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Needs Assessment ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
American Sign ◽  
The Past ◽  
Education And Health

Objectives Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users comprise a linguistic and cultural minority group that is understudied and underserved in health education and health care research. We examined differences in health risk behaviors, concerns, and access to health care among Deaf ASL users and hearing English speakers living in Florida. Methods We applied community-engaged research methods to develop and administer the first linguistically accessible and contextually tailored community health needs assessment to Deaf ASL users living in Florida. Deaf ASL users (n = 92) were recruited during a 3-month period in summer 2018 and compared with a subset of data on hearing English speakers from the 2018 Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n = 12 589). We explored prevalence and adjusted odds of health behavior, including substance use and health care use. Results Mental health was the top health concern among Deaf participants; 15.5% of participants screened as likely having a depressive disorder. Deaf people were 1.8 times more likely than hearing people to engage in binge drinking during the past month. In addition, 37.2% of participants reported being denied an interpreter in a medical facility in the past 12 months. Conclusion This study highlights the need to work with Deaf ASL users to develop context-specific health education and health promotion activities tailored to their linguistic and cultural needs and ensure that they receive accessible health care and health education.

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