The present study examined the effects of communication mode (oral vs. oral plus manual) and level of communicative competence (high vs. low) on profoundly deaf preschool children's play interactions with their hearing mothers. The sample consisted of 28 dyads equally divided into groups of oral and simultaneous (oral plus manual) communicators…

This paper explores the link between sign language research and sociolinguistic theory. It demonstrates how sign language research benefits from a sociolinguistic approach and provides validation for sociolinguistic theory. Previous research on the sign language of the deaf is reviewed, and a distinction is made between "structure-oriented" and…