Lecture 8 - Language Processing in a Sign Modality Flashcards
Compare the likelihood of using sign language by deaf people in hearing families with hearing people in deaf families.
Deaf people with hearing parents are much less likely to learn sign language (from their family) than hearing people with deaf parents.
Are sign languages made up of pictorial gestures/similar to mime?
No, pantomime differs from sign language in systematic ways - pantomime:
- can be produced with the whole body
- is idiosyncratic across individuals (unique to each person)
- sequential mimes convey the concept that one sign could.
What are the 3 main modalities that signs are made of?
- hand shape
- location
- movement
What is evidence that sign language has a compositional linguistic structure including phonology, morphology and syntax?
Minimal pairs occur in sign language. Two signs for two words may differ only in one modality (shape, location or movement).
Gestures/signs can have errors similar to slips of the tongue/production errors - shows that processing occurs according to phonemes rather than holistic/whole words.
What are signers versions of ToT?
ToF - tip of the finger experiences
How do signers signal for pronouns?
They signal to a specific area in the space in front of them (pronouns are directed towards referent locations).
What is co-reference processing?
The association of referents with locations in signing space. Pronouns are then directed towards referent locations.
What is evidence that use of signing space is separate from topographic space/representation?
Signers with neglect ignore one side of their visual scene when drawing a representation of the actual space in front of them - but use all space when using grammar in their signing space.
Are sign and spoken language the same? What does this tell us about modality of languages?
Sign and spoken languages are the same, and therefore linguistic structure/the shape of language is not driven by modality.
What can sign languages tell us about?
- aspects of universal human language processing.
- aspects of processing that are affected by the characteristics of audition vs vision (visual system can take in more information simultaneously)
- aspects of processing that are shaped by the nature of oral vs manual articulators (mouth vs hands - hands cannot produce language as quickly).
Spoken language input is monitored in the same way as what?
Monitoring of other people’s spoken language is the same as our monitoring of our own spoken language.
What is the integrated model of language processing?
Speech production motor systems are active during comprehension of spoken word.
Does the integrated model of language processing apply to sign language? Why/why not?
No. The visual systems involved in comprehending other people’s signing cannot be used to monitor your own signing, as it is in your peripheral vision and you can only see the back of your hands.
How do signers monitor and feedback to themselves about their signing/language production?
Activation of their proprioceptive and motor systems.
Research has found what for speed of comprehension of other signers?
Signers are faster for right handed signers.
Left handed signers are faster for left handed (congruent) models when they are 2 handed (regardless of symmetry).
However, left handed signers are also faster for incongruent (right handed) models, only when they are 1 handed signs.
