Predictors of English reading abilities in young deaf signers of American Sign Language

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Maxwell ◽  
Marc F. Joanisse ◽  
Cathy Chovaz McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
American Sign ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Reading Abilities ◽  
Deaf Signers

scholarly journals Cross-modal translation priming and iconicity effects in deaf signers and hearing learners of American Sign Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1032-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Mott ◽  
Katherine J. Midgley ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Karen Emmorey
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Time Window ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Beginning Learners ◽  
Iconic Signs ◽  
Deaf Signers

AbstractThis study used ERPs to a) assess the neural correlates of cross-linguistic, cross-modal translation priming in hearing beginning learners of American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf highly proficient signers and b) examine whether sign iconicity modulates these priming effects. Hearing learners exhibited translation priming for ASL signs preceded by English words (greater negativity for unrelated than translation primes) later in the ERP waveform than deaf signers and exhibited earlier and greater priming for iconic than non-iconic signs. Iconicity did not modulate translation priming effects either behaviorally or in the ERPs for deaf signers (except in a 800–1000 ms time window). Because deaf signers showed early translation priming effects (beginning at 400ms-600ms), we suggest that iconicity did not facilitate lexical access, but deaf signers may have recognized sign iconicity later in processing. Overall, the results indicate that iconicity speeds lexical access for L2 sign language learners, but not for proficient signers.

Second language acquisition across modalities: Production variability in adult L2 learners of American Sign Language

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison I Hilger ◽  
Torrey MJ Loucks ◽  
David Quinto-Pozos ◽  
Matthew WG Dye
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Experience Levels ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Production Variability ◽  
Deaf Signers

A study was conducted to examine production variability in American Sign Language (ASL) in order to gain insight into the development of motor control in a language produced in another modality. Production variability was characterized through the spatiotemporal index (STI), which represents production stability in whole utterances and is a function of variability in effector displacement waveforms (Smith et al., 1995). Motion capture apparatus was used to acquire wrist displacement data across a set of eight target signs embedded in carrier phrases. The STI values of Deaf signers and hearing learners at three different ASL experience levels were compared to determine whether production stability varied as a function of time spent acquiring ASL. We hypothesized that lower production stability as indexed by the STI would be evident for beginning ASL learners, indicating greater production variability, with variability decreasing as ASL language experience increased. As predicted, Deaf signers showed significantly lower STI values than the hearing learners, suggesting that stability of production is indeed characteristic of increased ASL use. The linear trend across experience levels of hearing learners was not statistically significant in all spatial dimensions, indicating that improvement in production stability across relatively short time scales was weak. This novel approach to characterizing production stability in ASL utterances has relevance for the identification of sign production disorders and for assessing L2 acquisition of sign languages.

Phonological variation and change in Australian and New Zealand Sign Languages: The location variable

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Schembri ◽  
David McKee ◽  
Rachel McKee ◽  
Sara Pivac ◽  
Trevor Johnston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Phonological Variation ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Citation Form ◽  
Deaf Signers

AbstractIn this study, we consider variation in a class of signs in Australian and New Zealand Sign Languages that includes the signs think, name, and clever. In their citation form, these signs are specified for a place of articulation at or near the signer's forehead or above, but are sometimes produced at lower locations. An analysis of 2667 tokens collected from 205 deaf signers in five sites across Australia and of 2096 tokens collected from 138 deaf signers from three regions in New Zealand indicates that location variation in these signs reflects both linguistic and social factors, as also reported for American Sign Language (Lucas, Bayley, & Valli, 2001). Despite similarities, however, we find that some of the particular factors at work, and the kinds of influence they have, appear to differ in these three signed languages. Moreover, our results suggest that lexical frequency may also play a role.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Study of ASL Demonstratives

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill P. Morford ◽  
Barbara Shaffer ◽  
Naomi Shin ◽  
Paul Twitchell ◽  
Bettie T. Petersen
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Deaf Signers

American Sign Language (ASL) makes extensive use of pointing signs, but there has been only limited documentation of how pointing signs are used for demonstrative functions. We elicited demonstratives from four adult Deaf signers of ASL in a puzzle completion task. Our preliminary analysis of the demonstratives produced by these signers supports three important conclusions in need of further investigation. First, despite descriptions of four demonstrative signs in the literature, participants expressed demonstrative function 95% of the time through pointing signs. Second, proximal and distal demonstrative referents were not distinguished categorically on the basis of different demonstrative signs, nor on the basis of pointing handshape or trajectory. Third, non-manual features including eye gaze and facial markers were essential to assigning meaning to demonstratives. Our results identify new avenues for investigation of demonstratives in ASL.

scholarly journals ERP Evidence for Co-Activation of English Words during Recognition of American Sign Language Signs

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Lee ◽  
Gabriela Meade ◽  
Katherine J. Midgley ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Karen Emmorey
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Distinct Pattern ◽  
American Sign ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Co Activation ◽  
English Translations ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Deaf Signers

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate co-activation of English words during recognition of American Sign Language (ASL) signs. Deaf and hearing signers viewed pairs of ASL signs and judged their semantic relatedness. Half of the semantically unrelated signs had English translations that shared an orthographic and phonological rime (e.g., BAR–STAR) and half did not (e.g., NURSE–STAR). Classic N400 and behavioral semantic priming effects were observed in both groups. For hearing signers, targets in sign pairs with English rime translations elicited a smaller N400 compared to targets in pairs with unrelated English translations. In contrast, a reversed N400 effect was observed for deaf signers: target signs in English rime translation pairs elicited a larger N400 compared to targets in pairs with unrelated English translations. This reversed effect was overtaken by a later, more typical ERP priming effect for deaf signers who were aware of the manipulation. These findings provide evidence that implicit language co-activation in bimodal bilinguals is bidirectional. However, the distinct pattern of effects in deaf and hearing signers suggests that it may be modulated by differences in language proficiency and dominance as well as by asymmetric reliance on orthographic versus phonological representations.

American Sign Language syntactic and narrative comprehension in skilled and less skilled readers: Bilingual and bimodal evidence for the linguistic basis of reading

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLENE CHAMBERLAIN ◽  
RACHEL I. MAYBERRY
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Narrative Comprehension ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Print Exposure ◽  
Skilled Readers ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Linguistic Basis

ABSTRACTWe tested the hypothesis that syntactic and narrative comprehension of a natural sign language can serve as the linguistic basis for skilled reading. Thirty-one adults who were deaf from birth and used American Sign Language (ASL) were classified as skilled or less skilled readers using an eighth-grade criterion. Proficiency with ASL syntax, and narrative comprehension of ASL and Manually Coded English (MCE) were measured in conjunction with variables including exposure to print, nonverbal IQ, and hearing and speech ability. Skilled readers showed high levels of ASL syntatic ability and narrative comprehension whereas less skilled readers did not. Regression analyses showed ASL syntactic ability to contribute unique variance in English reading performance when the effects of nonverbal IQ, exposure to print, and MCE comprehension were controlled. A reciprocal relationship between print exposure and sign language proficiency was further found. The results indicate that the linguistic basis of reading, and the reciprocal relationship between print exposure and “through the air” language, can be bimodal, as in being a sign language or a spoken language, and bilingual, as in being ASL and English.

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