This article is a critical review of a book by Sir William Wilde (better known as the father of Oscar Wilde) entitled "On the Physical, Moral, and Social Condition of the Deaf and Dumb" (1854). This book, which is based on the demographic and medical information that he collected from "deaf and dumb" people in the early 1850s,…

This study focuses on the practice of simultaneous co-interpreting in the media, specifically examining the interaction between a hearing interpreter (HI) and a deaf interpreter (DI). The HI's role in this context is to interpret the spoken source speech in Belgian French into French Belgian Sign Language (LSFB) for the DI, who, in turn, conveys…

Several sign languages of the world utilize a construction that consists of a question followed by an answer, both of which are produced by the same signer. For American Sign Language, this construction has been analyzed as a discourse-level rhetorical question construction (Hoza et al. 1997), as a single-sentence question-answer pair (Caponigro…

This article presents an analysis of the relationship between sign structure and iconicity in American Sign Language. Historically, linguists have been pressured to downplay the role of form-meaning relationships (iconicity) in signed languages. However, recent inquiries into the role of traditional phonological parameters of signs (handshape,…

This article contains a literature review of evidence of large prosodic domains that correspond to syntactic units such as a clause or a sentence. In particular, different phonetic nonmanual cues that may relate to clause or sentence boundaries are discussed in detail. On the basis of various ideas and views in the literature, we also describe two…

Psycholinguistic and neurological examination of the use of duality of patterning as a primary criterion for determining if a system is a (signed or spoken) language revealed the existence of duality in processes that facilitate language acquisition. (27 references) (Author/CB)

Applies a taxonomic principle to analyze the gradual elaboration of any language or sign system as a technology of communication rather than the reflection of a specialized language faculty or cluster of language faculties. (Author/CB)

The Communication Committee of the South African National Council for the Deaf is currently developing an artificial sign language which could be used with all of the country's ethnolinguistic groups. Guidelines and constraints for developing such an artificial language are outlined. (CB)

An examination of the linguistics of American Sign Language (ASL) establishes beyond a doubt that ASL is a natural language distinct from English and provides insight into how the abstract cognitive system called language finds expression in the signed modality. (CB)

Discusses the issue of the use of signed language dictionaries in the standardization of signed languages with reference to the Australian Sign language (Auslan) dictionaries. Details the structure of the Auslan dictionaries and argues that bilingual, bidirectional dictionaries of this type must be produced if communities are to encourage language…

Critiques the previous article by Torigoe and others (1995) and discusses research on indigenous gestural systems developed by people with deafness and shared with local hearing communities. Poses questions for further research in the field of indigenous gestural communication. (Seven references) (MDM)

An overview of current knowledge about Russian Sign Language (RSL) and its use in Russia today notes that linguistic study of RSL is still in the beginning stages, defines issues that need to be studied, and suggests directions for further research. (28 references) (JL)

A new deaf poetics has emerged, characterized by the focus on the centrality of the image in both American Sign Language (ASL) poems and in the international poetry community. A series of performances by ASL poets and other activities linking poets have provided new data to support the universal, i.e., poetic, phase through which language…

Examines the educational purposes of foreign-language requirements and asserts that the study of American Sign Language meets these goals in ways in which other "languages" (English dialects, computer languages) do not. (CB)

Examines the characteristics of diglossia and applies them to the current sign language situation in the United States. Concludes diglossia does not exist and argues that what is really happening is code switching between languages and style shifting within a language. (EKN)