Sign Language Linguistics Flashcards
Iconicity
relationship between icon and its meaning is obvious
MAN (pinching chin) - indicates beard?
WOMAN (swiping index finger across jaw) - indicates no beard?
BOY (smaller pinching chin) - indicates smaller beard? (small man)
Arbitrarieness
when the relationship between the icon and meaning is not immediately obvious
BROTHER (rubbing knuckles together)
GIRL (tapping hooked finger on nose)
Morphological well-formedness
BSL - BIRD SING SING
plurality marked by sign being signed with both hands
Syntactic well-formedness
BSL - NAME ME j-o-e
can force BSL into English syntax but it’s not standard
Phonological Elements
handshape, location, movement
can result in different signs when changing one element
Displacement
can use BSL to talk about something not currently happening (in a completely separate location)
Creativity
existing elements can be recombined in different ways to express new things or replace with new, innovative signs
sign for PREACHER replaced with SOCIAL WORKER
signs for new technologies: MOBILE, EMAIL, DVD
potentially offensive signs replaced with new ones
Myths about sign languages
Gestural version of spoken language
Universal/innate
Always iconic
A language of deficiency
controversial hypothesis from evolutionary linguists
signed communication preceded speech communication (all language developed from a proto-sign language)
Dual endowment
humans can express themselves fully using either oral-auditory language or visual-gestural language
Vertical transmission
deaf children born into deaf families - learn sign language from their parents
Horizontal transmission
deaf children born into hearing families - learn sign language, elements of their culture from an outside source (if they’re lucky)
Impact of hearing families/lack of information on deaf children
some children remain languageless, even at 5-6
in a routinely mainstream-schooled, it is a gamble on how much learning support they will receive
reports of deaf children thinking they’ll gain hearing when they grow up, or die before they reach adulthood
Old religious view
“faith cometh by hearing” (Romans) - perceived as a spiritual calamity
Congress of Milan 1880
declared speech superior to signing - signing was hence banned in schools and deaf children were forced to speak (though their speech was judged for breakin social rules they were unaware of - such as laughing or chewing too loudly)
