The Emergence of the Formal Category “Symmetry” in a New Sign Language

Logical properties such as negation, implication, and symmetry, despite the fact that they are foundational and threaded through the vocabulary and syntax of known natural languages, pose a special problem for language learning. Their meanings are much harder to identify and isolate in the child’s everyday interaction with referents in the world than concrete things (like spoons and horses) and happenings and acts (like running and jumping) that are much more easily identified, and thus more easily linked to their linguistic labels (spoon, horse, run, jump). Here we concentrate attention on the category of symmetry [a relation R is symmetrical if and only if (iff) for all x, y: if R(x,y), then R(y,x)], expressed in English by such terms as similar, marry, cousin, and near. After a brief introduction to how symmetry is expressed in English and other well-studied languages, we discuss the appearance and maturation of this category in Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). NSL is an emerging language used as the primary, daily means of communication among a population of deaf individuals who could not acquire the surrounding spoken language because they could not hear it, and who were not exposed to a preexisting sign language because there was none available in their community. Remarkably, these individuals treat symmetry, in both semantic and syntactic regards, much as do learners exposed to a previously established language. These findings point to deep human biases in the structures underpinning and constituting human language.

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Transformational Linguistics and the Implication Towards Second Language Learning

Register Journal ◽

10.18326/rgt.v3i1.23-36 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 23

Author(s):

Noor Khasanah

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Surface Structure ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Deep Structure ◽

Mental Representations ◽

Generative Grammar ◽

Human Language ◽

Teaching English ◽

The World ◽

Universal Pattern

The essence of Chomsky’s approach to language is the claim that there are linguistic universals in domain of syntax. He felt confident to show that syntax can be defined for any given language. For Chomsky, the nature of such mental representations is largely innate, so if a grammatical theory has explanatory adequacy it must be able to explain the various grammatical nuances of the languages of the world as relatively minor variations in the universal pattern of human language. In teaching English as L2, therefore knowing syntax and grammar of the language is important. Transformational Generative Grammar gives adequate elaboration in understanding them. Thus, the learners are expected to be able to avoid such ambiguity in interpreting the deep structure of a sentence since ambiguity will lead other people as the listeners or hearers of the speakers to misinterpret either consciously or unconsciously. Keywords: Surface Structure; Deep Structure; Constituent; Transformation

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Special Article: From Birdsong to Babel: the canine connection in the origin of human language

UNED Research Journal ◽

10.22458/urj.v5i1.216 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 11-16

Author(s):

Graham Pont

Keyword(s):

Canary Islands ◽

Ancient Greece ◽

Human Language ◽

Human Beings ◽

Natural Languages ◽

Australian Aboriginal ◽

The World ◽

Modern Europe

Whistled languages are still found today in many parts of the world, the most celebrated being Silbo, in the Canary Islands. According to Australian Aboriginal legends, it was the birds who taught human beings how to speak. Similar traditions are found in Ancient Greece and Rome and modern Europe. This article explores the hypothesis that around 100 000 years BP there was an interaction of whistling sounds among birds, humans and dogs that eventually led to the development of the first natural languages, from birdsong to whistling to articulate speech.KEY WORDS evolution of natural languages, birdsong, whistling, dogs

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Structural cues for symmetry, asymmetry, and non-symmetry in Central Taurus Sign Language

Sign Language & Linguistics ◽

10.1075/sll.00048.erg ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (1-2) ◽

pp. 171-207

Author(s):

Rabia Ergin ◽

Ann Senghas ◽

Ray Jackendoff ◽

Lila Gleitman

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Sign Language ◽

Linear Structure ◽

Mirror Image ◽

Human Language ◽

Age Cohorts ◽

Body Segmentation ◽

Over Time

Abstract We investigate how predicates expressing symmetry, asymmetry and non-symmetry are encoded in a newly emerging sign language, Central Taurus Sign Language (CTSL). We find that predicates involving symmetry (i.e., reciprocal and symmetrical actions) differ from those involving asymmetry (i.e., transitive) in their use of the morphological devices investigated here: body segmentation, mirror-image articulators and double perspective. Symmetrical predicates also differ from non-symmetrical ones (i.e., intransitive) in their use of mirror-image configuration. Furthermore, reciprocal actions are temporally sequenced within a linear structure, whereas symmetrical actions are not. Thus, our data reveal that CTSL expresses each type of action with a particular combination of linguistic devices to encode symmetry, asymmetry, and non-symmetry. Furthermore, differences in the use of these devices across age cohorts of CTSL suggest that some have become more conventionalized over time. The same semantic distinctions have been observed – though with different realization – in another emerging sign language, Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). This converging suggests that natural human language learning capacities include an expectation to distinguish symmetry, asymmetry and non-symmetry.

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The Road to Language Learning Is Not Entirely Iconic: Iconicity, Neighborhood Density, and Frequency Facilitate Acquisition of Sign Language

Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/0956797617700498 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (7) ◽

pp. 979-987 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Naomi K. Caselli ◽

Jennie E. Pyers

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

American Sign Language ◽

Sign Language ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Neighborhood Density ◽

Lexical Frequency ◽

New Words ◽

The Road ◽

Phonological Structure ◽

Lexical Items

Iconic mappings between words and their meanings are far more prevalent than once estimated and seem to support children’s acquisition of new words, spoken or signed. We asked whether iconicity’s prevalence in sign language overshadows two other factors known to support the acquisition of spoken vocabulary: neighborhood density (the number of lexical items phonologically similar to the target) and lexical frequency. Using mixed-effects logistic regressions, we reanalyzed 58 parental reports of native-signing deaf children’s productive acquisition of 332 signs in American Sign Language (ASL; Anderson & Reilly, 2002) and found that iconicity, neighborhood density, and lexical frequency independently facilitated vocabulary acquisition. Despite differences in iconicity and phonological structure between signed and spoken language, signing children, like children learning a spoken language, track statistical information about lexical items and their phonological properties and leverage this information to expand their vocabulary.

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Transformational Linguistics and the Implication Towards Second Language Learning

Register Journal ◽

10.18326/rgt.v3i1.439 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Noor Khasanah

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

Deep Structure ◽

Mental Representations ◽

Generative Grammar ◽

Human Language ◽

Teaching English ◽

The World ◽

Universal Pattern

The essence of Chomsky’s approach to language is the claim that there are linguistic universals in domain of syntax. He felt confident to show that syntax can be defined for any given language. For Chomsky, the nature of such mental representations is largely innate, so if a grammatical theory has explanatory adequacy it must be able to explain the various grammatical nuances of the languages of the world as relatively minor variations in the universal pattern of human language. In teaching English as L2, therefore knowing syntax and grammar of the language is important. Transformational Generative Grammar gives adequate elaboration in understanding them. Thus, the learners are expected to be able to avoid such ambiguity in interpreting the deep structure of a sentence since ambiguity will lead other people as the listeners or hearers of the speakers to misinterpret either consciously or unconsciously.

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Units in the analysis of signs

Phonology ◽

10.1017/s095267570000004x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 209-241 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Harry van der Hulst

Keyword(s):

Human Brain ◽

Sign Language ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Syllable Structure ◽

Human Language ◽

Extensive Discussion ◽

Sign Languages ◽

Language Capacity ◽

Language Modality ◽

Rule Out

The assumption that there is a common set of linguistic principles underlying both spoken language and sign language phonology, which forms part of the human language capacity, is shared by most phonologists working on sign language. See Sandler (1993a) for an extensive discussion of these issues. But even though this assumption is reasonable, since both spoken and signed languages are products of the same human brain and fulfil the same function, it is not clear that theories of representation which have been proposed for spoken languages can be directly applied to the structure of sign languages. Such representations have been developed on the basis of the spoken language modality only. They are often so close to the phonetics of spoken languages that we cannot rule out the possibility that non-trivial aspects of them are modality-specific. Therefore, rather than, for example, attempting to test various competing (spoken language-based) theories of syllable structure, we must first investigate the structure of sign language in its own right. This strategy need not be pushed too far, however. In developing a model of signs we can benefit from general principles which have proved successful in the study of spoken languages, especially if these principles do not seem to be directly based on ‘spoken phonetics’.

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Understanding the Communication Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Who Are Deafblind

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/persp2.sig12.81 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (12) ◽

pp. 81-88

Author(s):

Sandy K. Bowen ◽

Silvia M. Correa-Torres

Keyword(s):

Sign Language ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Linguistically Diverse ◽

Spoken Language ◽

Culturally And Linguistically Diverse ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Linguistically Diverse Students ◽

The Past ◽

Communication Needs ◽

Different Cultures

America's population is more diverse than ever before. The prevalence of students who are culturally and/or linguistically diverse (CLD) has been steadily increasing over the past decade. The changes in America's demographics require teachers who provide services to students with deafblindness to have an increased awareness of different cultures and diversity in today's classrooms, particularly regarding communication choices. Children who are deafblind may use spoken language with appropriate amplification, sign language or modified sign language, and/or some form of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

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Linguistic Data Model for Natural Languages and Artificial Intelligence. Part 5. Introduction to Logic

Discourse ◽

10.32603/2412-8562-2020-6-3-109-117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 109-117

Author(s):

O. M. Polyakov

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Mathematical Logic ◽

Natural Language ◽

Semantic Interpretation ◽

General View ◽

World Model ◽

Semantic Approach ◽

Natural Languages ◽

The World ◽

Linguistic Aspect

Introduction. The article continues the series of publications on the linguistics of relations (hereinafter R–linguistics) and is devoted to an introduction to the logic of natural language in relation to the approach considered in the series. The problem of natural language logic still remains relevant, since this logic differs significantly from traditional mathematical logic. Moreover, with the appearance of artificial intelligence systems, the importance of this problem only increases. The article analyzes logical problems that prevent the application of classical logic methods to natural languages. This is possible because R-linguistics forms the semantics of a language in the form of world model structures in which language sentences are interpreted.Methodology and sources. The results obtained in the previous parts of the series are used as research tools. To develop the necessary mathematical representations in the field of logic and semantics, the formulated concept of the interpretation operator is used.Results and discussion. The problems that arise when studying the logic of natural language in the framework of R–linguistics are analyzed. These issues are discussed in three aspects: the logical aspect itself; the linguistic aspect; the aspect of correlation with reality. A very General approach to language semantics is considered and semantic axioms of the language are formulated. The problems of the language and its logic related to the most General view of semantics are shown.Conclusion. It is shown that the application of mathematical logic, regardless of its type, to the study of natural language logic faces significant problems. This is a consequence of the inconsistency of existing approaches with the world model. But it is the coherence with the world model that allows us to build a new logical approach. Matching with the model means a semantic approach to logic. Even the most General view of semantics allows to formulate important results about the properties of languages that lack meaning. The simplest examples of semantic interpretation of traditional logic demonstrate its semantic problems (primarily related to negation).

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