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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Young children's acquisition of the location aspect of American Sign Language signs: parental report findings.

The acquisition of the location aspect of American Sign Language signs was examined in 9 young children of deaf parents. In monthly home visits, the parents demonstrated on videotape how their children formed each newly-acquired sign in their lexicons; these videotaped records served as the basis for the present analyses. Sign locations, overall, were produced with relatively high accuracy: 83.5% were correct on average across the different signs in the children's early lexicons. Certain sign locations were found to be more easily or readily acquired than others. Highly contrasting locations (forehead, chin, on and in front of the trunk) were acquired first. Among the locations typically acquired later were those that involved complex handshapes, provided a small area for a point of contact, or required the active signing hand to cross the body's midline. The location aspect was interpreted as playing a central role in young children's early sign language acquisition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Comparing action gestures and classifier verbs of motion: evidence from Australian Sign Language, Taiwan Sign Language, and nonsigners' gestures without speech.

Recent research into signed languages indicates that signs may share some properties with gesture, especially in the use of space in classifier constructions. A prediction of this proposal is that there will be similarities in the representation of motion events by sign-naive gesturers and by native signers of unrelated signed languages. This prediction is tested for deaf native signers of Australian Sign Language (Auslan), deaf signers of Taiwan Sign Language (TSL), and hearing nonsigners using the Verbs of Motion Production task from the Test Battery for American Sign Language (ASL) Morphology and Syntax. Results indicate that differences between the responses of nonsigners, Auslan signers, and TSL signers and the expected ASL responses are greatest with handshape units; movement and location units appear to be very similar. Although not definitive, these data are consistent with the claim that classifier constructions are blends of linguistic and gestural elements.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Acquisition of American Sign Language versus Amerind signs in a mentally handicapped sample.

The differential acquisition of American Sign Language versus Amerind signs was investigated in a moderately to severely mentally handicapped sample. The subjects (n = 10) were selected from a residential training facility and each had a mental age within the range 3;0-5;0 years. Twenty signs were taught to each subject, 10 American Sign Language signs and 10 Amerind signs. An Alternating Treatments Design was selected to facilitate comparison of the relative efficacy of the two sign systems across single subjects. Five signs were presented per week (2 weeks) in each sign system. Results showed that a significantly greater (p less than .001) number of Amerind as compared to American Sign Language signs were acquired during Week 1, Week 2, and across both weeks. Retention results, after 1- and 2-week delays, showed that subjects continued to reproduce significantly more Amerind than American Sign Language signs. The results were thought to be due to the more concrete and less complex nature of the Amerind system. Implications of these results for this and similar samples are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Deaf children creating written texts: contributions of American Sign Language and signed forms of English.

The objectives of this descriptive study were to investigate the ways in which American Sign Language (ASL) and English-based sign allow for comprehension of text content, and to determine how these two avenues of communication might mediate the process of reconstructing "signed meaning" in a written text. The authors argue that comprehensible input in a visual mode is possible in either ASL or English-based sign. They further claim that English-based signing may be an effective means of bridging the gap between inner speech and written text.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A study of timing in a manual and a spoken language: American sign language and English.

A comparative analysis of the time variables in the production of speech and sign reveals that signers modify their global physical rate primarily by altering the time they spend articulating, whereas speakers do so by chaning the time they spend pausing. When signers increase or decrease their pause time, however little they do so, they alter the number and the length of the pauses equally, whereas speakers primarily alter the number of pauses and leave their pause durations relatively constant. An analysis of the durations of signs reveals that signs are longer at the end of sentences than within sentences and that the first occurrence of a sign is longer than the second when syntactic location is controlled (both these findings have already been reported for spoken language). The inherent duration of a sign can be accounted for almost totally by the movement characteristic; handshape, location, and number of hands in a sign are of little importance. Finally, signers retain their regular "quiet-breathing" respiratory pattern across signing rates and inhale at locations independent of syntactic importance. In this they are quite unlike speakers, who breathe at syntactic breaks.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Neural systems underlying spatial language in American Sign Language.

A [(15)O]water PET experiment was conducted to investigate the neural regions engaged in processing constructions unique to signed languages: classifier predicates in which the position of the hands in signing space schematically represents spatial relations among objects. Ten deaf native signers viewed line drawings depicting a spatial relation between two objects (e.g., a cup on a table) and were asked either to produce a classifier construction or an American Sign Language (ASL) preposition that described the spatial relation or to name the figure object (colored red). Compared to naming objects, describing spatial relationships with classifier constructions engaged the supramarginal gyrus (SMG) within both hemispheres. Compared to naming objects, naming spatial relations with ASL prepositions engaged only the right SMG. Previous research indicates that retrieval of English prepositions engages both right and left SMG, but more inferiorly than for ASL classifier constructions. Compared to ASL prepositions, naming spatial relations with classifier constructions engaged left inferior temporal (IT) cortex, a region activated when naming concrete objects in either ASL or English. Left IT may be engaged because the handshapes in classifier constructions encode information about object type (e.g., flat surface). Overall, the results suggest more right hemisphere involvement when expressing spatial relations in ASL, perhaps because signing space is used to encode the spatial relationship between objects.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Children creating language: how Nicaraguan sign language acquired a spatial grammar.

It has long been postulated that language is not purely learned, but arises from an interaction between environmental exposure and innate abilities. The innate component becomes more evident in rare situations in which the environment is markedly impoverished. The present study investigated the language production of a generation of deaf Nicaraguans who had not been exposed to a developed language. We examined the changing use of early linguistic structures (specifically, spatial modulations) in a sign language that has emerged since the Nicaraguan group first came together: In tinder two decades, sequential cohorts of learners systematized the grammar of this new sign language. We examined whether the systematicity being added to the language stems from children or adults: our results indicate that such changes originate in children aged 10 and younger Thus, sequential cohorts of interacting young children collectively: possess the capacity not only to learn, but also to create, language.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The sign language skills classroom observation: a process for describing sign language proficiency in classroom settings.

In collaboration with teachers and students at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), the Sign Language Skills Classroom Observation (SLSCO) was designed to provide feedback to teachers on their sign language communication skills in the classroom. In the present article, the impetus and rationale for development of the SLSCO is discussed. Previous studies related to classroom signing and observation methodology are reviewed. The procedure for developing the SLSCO is then described. This procedure included (a) interviews with faculty and students at NTID, (b) identification of linguistic features of sign language important for conveying content to deaf students, (c) development of forms for recording observations of classroom signing, (d) analysis of use of the forms, (e) development of a protocol for conducting the SLSCO, and (f) piloting of the SLSCO in classrooms. The results of use of the SLSCO with NTID faculty during a trial year are summarized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A critical period for right hemisphere recruitment in American Sign Language processing.

Signed languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) are natural languages that are formally similar to spoken languages, and thus present an opportunity to examine the effects of language structure and modality on the neural organization for language. Native learners of spoken languages show predominantly left-lateralized patterns of neural activation for language processing, whereas native learners of ASL show extensive right hemisphere (RH) and LH activation. We demonstrate that the RH angular gyrus is active during ASL processing only in native signers (hearing, ASL-English bilinguals) but not in those who acquired ASL after puberty (hearing, native English speakers). This is the first demonstration of a 'sensitive' or 'critical' period for language in an RH structure. This has implications for language acquisition and for understanding age-related changes in neuroplasticity more generally.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Practical low-cost visual communication using binary images for deaf sign language.

Deaf sign language transmitted by video requires a temporal resolution of 8 to 10 frames/s for effective communication. Conventional videoconferencing applications, when operated over low bandwidth telephone lines, provide very low temporal resolution of pictures, of the order of less than a frame per second, resulting in jerky movement of objects. This paper presents a practical solution for sign language communication, offering adequate temporal resolution of images using moving binary sketches or cartoons, implemented on standard personal computer hardware with low-cost cameras and communicating over telephone lines. To extract cartoon points an efficient feature extraction algorithm adaptive to the global statistics of the image is proposed. To improve the subjective quality of the binary images, irreversible preprocessing techniques, such as isolated point removal and predictive filtering, are used. A simple, efficient and fast recursive temporal prefiltering scheme, using histograms of successive frames, reduces the additive and multiplicative noise from low-cost cameras. An efficient three-dimensional (3-D) compression scheme codes the binary sketches. Subjective tests performed on the system confirm that it can be used for sign language communication over telephone lines.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Involvement of classical anterior and posterior language areas in sign language production, as investigated by 4 T functional magnetic resonance imaging.

To investigate the cerebral organization for language production across the particular channels supporting linguistic behavior, a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study was conducted in deaf native users of American Sign Language (ASL) and age-matched hearing controls. Seven native ASL speakers and 15 vocal English speaking subjects covertly performed an object naming task inside the 4 T scanner using their native languages ASL or English, respectively. In subjects of both groups, classical language areas were found to be activated, including posterior Broca's area, the anterior insula, premotor cortex, and the posterior parts of the superior temporal cortex. Activations showed a predominance of the left hemisphere for both groups. In the deaf group, however, there was markedly larger involvement of the cerebellum, the inferior frontal gyrus, and the posterior insula and more robust activation in occipito-temporal and superior parietal cortices. In summary, it could be demonstrated by fMRI that native language production using ASL is associated with activation of classical language areas, although the neural organization for language processing is not identical in the two language modalities ASL and English language.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Name signs in Greek sign language.

Name signs have existed in Greek Deaf culture since antiquity. However, little is known about Greek Sign Language (GSL) and the Greek Deaf community. Based on interviews with 200 people, the phonological characteristics of Greek name signs are described, as well as the frequency of occurrence of specific name signs and the influence of spoken Greek. Comparisons are made with American Sign Language and the naming process in general Greek culture. The Greek Deaf community uses both types of name signs, descriptive name signs (DNS) and arbitrary name signs (ANS). The most popular form of naming uses the DNS process. Name signs are not passed down within families but are assigned by members of the Deaf community or by Deaf peers in the educational setting. Once a name sign has been assigned it stays with the recipient, usually for life. Traditionally, most name signs describe personal characteristics, but with many hearing people now learning GSL, initialized signs are appearing. Whether the Greek Deaf community will accept this practice remains uncertain.

Culture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The neural representation of language in users of American Sign Language.

UNLABELLED: Studies of American Sign Language (ASL) offer unique insights into the fundamental properties of human language. Neurolinguistic studies explore the effects of left and right hemisphere lesions on the production and comprehension of signed language. Following damage to the left hemisphere perisylvian regions, signers, like users of spoken languages, exhibit frank aphasic disturbances. Sign language paraphasia illustrates the linguistic specificity of impairment. A case study involving cortical stimulation mapping (CSM) in a deaf signer provides evidence for the specialization of Broca's area in sign language production. The effects of right hemisphere damage highlight the specialized properties of sign language use. Data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of deaf signers confirm the importance of left hemisphere language structures in the use of signed language, but also reveal the contributions of right hemisphere regions to the processing of ASL. These studies provide new insights into the complementary roles of biology and environment in language representation in the human brain. LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this activity, the participant will read studies of aphasia in users of signed language and a discussion of neurolinguistic studies of paraphasia in ASL. The participant will examine the role of the right hemisphere in language use and findings from a functional imaging study of sentence processing in ASL and English.

Aphasia, Broca↗
PubMed1998

Mental rotation within linguistic and non-linguistic domains in users of American sign language.

American sign language (ASL) uses space itself to encode spatial information. Spatial scenes are most often described from the perspective of the person signing (the 'narrator'), such that the viewer must perform what amounts to a 180 degrees mental rotation to correctly comprehend the description. But scenes can also be described, non-canonically, from the viewer's perspective, in which case no rotation is required. Is mental rotation during sign language processing difficult for ASL signers? Are there differences between linguistic and non-linguistic mental rotation? Experiment 1 required subjects to decide whether a signed description matched a room presented on videotape. Deaf ASL signers were more accurate when viewing scenes described from the narrator's perspective (even though rotation is required) than from the viewer's perspective (no rotation required). In Experiment 2, deaf signers and hearing non-signers viewed videotapes of objects appearing briefly and sequentially on a board marked with an entrance. This board either matched an identical board in front of the subject or was rotated 180 degrees. Subjects were asked to place objects on their board in the orientation and location shown on the video, making the appropriate rotation when required. All subjects were significantly less accurate when rotation was required, but ASL signers performed significantly better than hearing non-signers under rotation. ASL signers were also more accurate in remembering object orientation. Signers then viewed a video in which the same scenes were signed from the two perspectives (i.e. rotation required or no rotation required). In contrast to their performance with real objects, signers did not show the typical mental rotation effect. Males outperformed females on the rotation task with objects, but the superiority disappeared in the linguistic condition. We discuss the nature of the ASL mental rotation transformation, and we conclude that habitual use of ASL can enhance non-linguistic cognitive processes thus providing evidence for (a form of) the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Sign language: its history and contribution to the understanding of the biological nature of language.

CONCLUSION: The development of conceptualization of a biological basis of language during the 20th century has come about, in part, through the appreciation of the central nervous system's ability to utilize varied sensory inputs, and particularly vision, to develop language. OBJECTIVE: Sign language has been a part of the linguistic experience from prehistory to the present day. Data suggest that human language may have originated as a visual language and became primarily auditory with the later development of our voice/speech tract. Sign language may be categorized into two types. The first is used by individuals who have auditory/oral language and the signs are used for special situations, such as communication in a monastery in which there is a vow of silence. The second is used by those who do not have access to auditory/oral language, namely the deaf. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The history of the two forms of sign language and the development of the concept of the biological basis of language are reviewed from the fourth century BC to the present day. RESULTS: Sign languages of the deaf have been recognized since at least the fourth century BC. The codification of a monastic sign language occurred in the seventh to eighth centuries AD. Probable synergy between the two forms of sign language occurred in the 16th century. Among other developments, the Abbey de L'Epée introduced, in the 18th century, an oral syntax, French, into a sign language based upon indigenous signs of the deaf and newly created signs. During the 19th century, the concept of a "critical" period for the acquisition of language developed; this was an important stimulus for the exploration of the biological basis of language. The introduction of techniques, e.g. evoked potentials and functional MRI, during the 20th century allowed study of the brain functions associated with language.

Brain↗