Signing systems that attempted to represent spoken language via manual signs -- some invented, and some borrowed from natural sign languages -- have historically been used in classrooms with deaf children. However, despite decades of research and use of these systems in the classroom, there is little evidence supporting their educational…

A model is proposed to explain when communication in the manual modality will assume grammatical properties and when it will not. An experiment with 16 hearing adults suggests the necessity of segmentation and combination in all communication. Manual communication need not be characterized by grammatical properties only when it accompanies speech.…

The paper reports on a two-part longitudinal study of the English language competencies of deaf students for whom total communication through manual coded English (MCE) was the primary method of instruction. In Part I of the study, the performance of three groups of deaf Ss who used MCE was compared with that of three groups of normal hearing Ss…

The role of verbs in American Sign Language (ASL) is investigated. Verb mutations in ASL are very different from the kinds of grammatical deformations that occur in English, and are different from those that occur in spoken languages as a whole. (HP)

Sign languages modulate the production of signs in space and use this spatial modulation to refer back to entities--to maintain coreference. We ask here whether spatial modulation is so fundamental to language in the manual modality that it will be invented by individuals asked to create gestures on the spot. English speakers were asked to…

The paper considers the problem of inflectional grammar in signed communication from the viewpoint of the educational advantages for the deaf child of two contending systems: grapheme modified signing and systematically inflected signing. (CL)

The variable usage of Negative Incorporation as a phonological process in French Sign Language (FSL) and as a grammatical process in American Sign Language (ASL) is described. In addition, the historical continuum between FSL and ASL despite heavy restructuring is shown. (HP)

In the debate over continuities versus discontinuities in the emergence of language, sign language is not taken to be the antithesis, but is presented as the antecedent of spoken languages. (Author/HP)

Describes a research project intended to develop a description, within a generative model, of British Sign Language grammar, with particular focus on time expressions. (AM)

Examines the acquisition of conditional sentences in American Sign Language (which entail the use of both manual signs and grammaticized nonmanual facial expressions) by deaf children. The results indicate that children first acquire manual conditional signs before they employ obligatory grammaticized facial expressions, and also acquire manual…

A description of the sign language used in a Mexican village shows its parallels with other sign languages, its similarity to the folk gestural system of Mexico and its distinguishing aspects. Examples illustrate its syntax, grammar and lexicon. (PMJ)

This paper examines historical processes in American Sign Language (ASL) and shows that there is a tendency for signs to change in the direction of arbitrariness, rather than maintaining a level of iconicity. Changes at the formational level are seen as contributing to language-internal consistency, at the expense of transparency. (Author/CLK)

Language tests were administered by videotape to 27 deaf children taught to sign English. The tests, one in manual English (ME) and the other in American Sign Language (ASL) each included twelve grammatical distinctions: two aspects of adjectival modification (opposition and ordering), two types of pluralization (is/are and indicative in ME, dual…

The analysis of questionnaire responses of 888 teachers of the hearing impaired found that deaf teachers, teachers with less than six years of experience, and junior high and high school teachers reported incorporating fewer English grammatical features in their sign communication than other teachers. (Author/DB)

This digest uses a question-and-answer format to summarize basic information about the use of English-based sign systems with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. English-based sign systems are explained as using the vocabulary of American Sign Language (ASL) with the grammatical and syntactical features of English. These systems include…