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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Manual Movement In Sign Languages: One Hand Versus Two In Communicating Shapes, C. Ferrara, Donna Jo Napoli
Manual Movement In Sign Languages: One Hand Versus Two In Communicating Shapes, C. Ferrara, Donna Jo Napoli
Linguistics Faculty Works
In sign languages, the task of communicating a shape involves drawing in the air with one moving hand (Method One) or two (Method Two). Since the movement path is iconic, method choice might be based on the shape. In the present studies we aimed to determine whether geometric properties motivate method choice. In a study of 17 deaf signers from six countries, the strongest predictors of method choice were whether the shape has any curved edges (Method One), and whether the shape is symmetrical across the Y‐axis (Method Two), where the default was Method One. In a second study of …
Effort Reduction In Articulation In Sign Languages And Dance, Donna Jo Napoli, Stephanie Liapis
Effort Reduction In Articulation In Sign Languages And Dance, Donna Jo Napoli, Stephanie Liapis
Linguistics Faculty Works
Sign languages exhibit the drive for ease of articulation found in spoken languages, particularly in fast and casual conversation, where the methods that reduce effort are shown here to be limited by the need to maintain recognizability. Participatory dance, which uses the same articulators as sign languages plus additional ones, also demonstrates methods of reducing biomechanical effort, analogous to those seen in sign languages, and, again, limited by the need to maintain recognizability of the dance figures/phrases. However, when we look at performance language (here, sign poetry) and performance dance, we find a contrast: sign language poetry uses reduced and …
Sticky: Taboo Topics In Deaf Communities, J. N. Fisher, G. Mirus, Donna Jo Napoli
Sticky: Taboo Topics In Deaf Communities, J. N. Fisher, G. Mirus, Donna Jo Napoli
Linguistics Faculty Works
This chapter offers an overview of taboo topics within deaf communities to bring forward issues not obvious to those outside deaf communities. We look at taboo behaviors of hearing people as they interact with deaf communities, considering linguistic and cultural appropriation, exploitation, and hearing privilege. We also look at taboo topics regarding social hierarchies within deaf communities, those based on gender and race, as well as those based on cognitive abilities, particularly language. These topics present a nuanced and diverse representation of deaf people, which is intended to sensitize those aiming to work with deaf communities or, in fact, with …
Influence Of Predicate Sense On Word Order In Sign Languages: Intensional And Extensional Verbs, Donna Jo Napoli, R. Sutton Spence, R. Müller De Quadros
Influence Of Predicate Sense On Word Order In Sign Languages: Intensional And Extensional Verbs, Donna Jo Napoli, R. Sutton Spence, R. Müller De Quadros
Linguistics Faculty Works
We present evidence for the influence of semantics on the order of subject, object, and verb in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) sentences. While some have argued for a prevailing pattern of SVO in Libras, we find a strong tendency for this order in sentences that do not presuppose the existence of the verb’s object, but not in sentences that do, which instead favor SOV. These findings are coherent with those of a recent study on gesture. We argue that the variable influence of the relevant predicates is particularly salient in sign languages, due to the iconic nature of the visual …
Avoiding Linguistic Neglect Of Deaf Children, T. Humphries, P. Kushalnagar, G. Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, C. Padden, C. Rathmann, S. Smith
Avoiding Linguistic Neglect Of Deaf Children, T. Humphries, P. Kushalnagar, G. Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, C. Padden, C. Rathmann, S. Smith
Linguistics Faculty Works
Deaf children who are not provided with a sign language early in their development are at risk of linguistic deprivation; they may never be fluent in any language, and they may have deficits in cognitive activities that rely on a firm foundation in a first language. These children are socially and emotionally isolated. Deafness makes a child vulnerable to abuse, and linguistic deprivation compounds the abuse because the child is less able to report it. Parents rely on professionals as guides in making responsible choices in raising and educating their deaf children. But lack of expertise on language acquisition and …
Reactive Effort As A Factor That Shapes Sign Language Lexicons, N. Sanders, Donna Jo Napoli
Reactive Effort As A Factor That Shapes Sign Language Lexicons, N. Sanders, Donna Jo Napoli
Linguistics Faculty Works
Many properties of languages, including sign languages, are not uniformly distributed among items in the lexicon. Some of this nonuniformity can be accounted for by appeal to articulatory ease, with easier articulations being overrepresented in the lexicon in comparison to more difficult articulations. The literature on ease of articulation deals only with the active effort internal to the articulation itself. We note the existence of a previously unstudied aspect of articulatory ease, which we call reactive effort: the effort of resisting incidental movement that has been induced by an articulation elsewhere in the body. For example, reactive effort is needed …
A Cross-Linguistic Preference For Torso Stability In The Lexicon: Evidence From 24 Sign Languages, N. Sanders, Donna Jo Napoli
A Cross-Linguistic Preference For Torso Stability In The Lexicon: Evidence From 24 Sign Languages, N. Sanders, Donna Jo Napoli
Linguistics Faculty Works
When the arms move in certain ways, they can cause the torso to twist or rock. Such extraneous torso movement is undesirable, especially during sign language communication, when torso position may carry linguistic significance, so we expend effort to resist it when it is not intended. This so-called “reactive effort” has only recently been identified by Sanders and Napoli (2016), but their preliminary work on three genetically unrelated languages suggests that the effects of reactive effort can be observed cross-linguistically by examination of sign language lexicons. In particular, the frequency of different kinds of manual movements in the lexicon correlates …
Ensuring Language Acquisition For Deaf Children: What Linguists Can Do, T. Humphries, P. Kushalnagar, G. Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, C. Padden, C. Rathmann
Ensuring Language Acquisition For Deaf Children: What Linguists Can Do, T. Humphries, P. Kushalnagar, G. Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, C. Padden, C. Rathmann
Linguistics Faculty Works
Parents of small deaf children need guidance on constructing home and school environments that affect normal language acquisition. They often turn to physicians and spiritual leaders and, increasingly, the internet. These sources can be underinformed about crucial issues, such as matters of brain plasticity connected to the risk of linguistic deprivation, and delay or disruption in the development of cognitive skills interwoven with linguistic ability. We have formed a team of specialists in education, linguistics, pediatric medicine, and psychology, and at times specialists in theology and in law have joined our group. We argue that deaf children should be taught …