One of the fundamental issues for a language is its capacity to express argument structure unambiguously. This study presents evidence for the emergence and the incremental development of these basic mechanisms in a newly developing language, Central Taurus Sign Language. Our analyses identify universal patterns in both the emergence and…

In this article, we examine various strategies used to express cardinal numbers in Yucatec Maya Sign Languages (YMSLs) from three historically unrelated communities in Yucatán, Mexico: Chicán, Nohkop, and Cepeda Peraza. Our findings describe some numeral strategies, which remained unattested in previous accounts, and demonstrate that YMSL numerals…

Argues that a 1997 study of WH-movement in American Sign Language (ASL) proposing leftward syntactic movement uses incorrect interpretations of the data and can not account for the facts of the language. A previously-proposed position that ASL WH-phrases move rightward, and that universal grammar must allow the option of rightward movement, is…

Uses data from American Sign Language complement structures to show that a syntactic theory is needed to account for these in a formal way. Constraints on the forms of these structures are discussed in terms of syntactic constraints, rather than pragmatic or functional conditions. (Author/AMH)

Argues that the study of natural sign languages can enhance understanding of what language really is. The aspects of sign language that are similar and dissimilar to the characteristics of spoken language are described. (Author/CB)

Presented are rules of sign language structure which have provided a framework for linguistic analysis in a project studying the acquisition of sign language by 10 deaf children of deaf parents. Two levels of rules are outlined: definition rules, which deal with definitions of terms used in the analysis and their relation to terms used in other…

A review of research and theory on the structure of signed and spoken languages explores the relationship between the two language types and how the study of signed languages can inform researchers about the human capacity for language. (29 references) (CB)

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)

A study examined the process of grammaticalization in American Sign Language, examining basic principles and patterns and drawing parallels with oral language. More advanced stages of grammaticalization (involving fusion and affecting syntax) are examined in depth, leading to proposal of a temporal-ordering analysis to explain sequencing of verbal…

Focusing on the question, "Can chimpanzees produce new sentences or merely sequences?" Terrace describes his efforts to teach the chimpanzee Nim to communicate through sign language. From his results, and the Gardners' experiments with Washoe, he concludes that no proof yet exists that chimpanzees can use language as humans do. (SJL)

Analysis of the performance of beginning American Sign Language students, who had only recently learned the manual alphabet, on a task in which proactive interference would build up rapidly on successive trials, supported the view that different languages have separate memory stores. (Author/CB)

A collection of papers addresses a variety of issues regarding the nature and structure of sign language, gesture, and gesture systems. Articles include: "Theoretical Issues Relating Language, Gesture, and Space: An Overview" (Karen Emmorey, Judy S. Reilly); "Real, Surrogate, and Token Space: Grammatical Consequences in ASL American…

A framework which considers speech and language as separate entities in a symbiotic relationship is presented, and basic questions are raised concerning how speech and language function together and what their reciprocal effects are. Based on the notion that speech and language are independent, various examples of speech without language and of…

Verbs of motion and location in Irish Sign Language have a characteristic lexicalization pattern, which influences the lexical choices signers make in denoting the motion and location of entities. Perceived characteristics of referents govern the type of verb root selected. Animate and inanimate referents are signified by different types of verb…

A study of dialectal variation in Mexican Sign Language (MSL), the primary language for a large segment of Mexico's deaf community, is presented. Signs used by nine different sources representing various locations, ages, and social groups are compared. The first section reviews a number of previous informal assessments of dialectal variation in…