This paper argues against three premises of language innatism: 1) language is oral; 2) language is species-specific; and 3) man has a built-in language-specific capacity. (CHK)

The manual teaches SignFont, a written form of sign language. Following a brief introduction, the first of three major sections describes the SignFont alphabet, structured according to the parts of every sign that is written (handshape, action area, location, movement). The second section discusses in greater detail how the SignFont characters are…

Experiments in teaching language or language-like behavior to chimpanzees and other primates may bear on the problem of the origin of language. Evidence appears to support the theory that man's first language was gestural. Recent pongid language experiments suggest: (1) a capacity for language is not solely human and therefore does not represent…

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)

A study utilizing deaf children investigating the question, "must a child experience language in order to learn language?" found that the children themselves actually devise their own communications system. There was no evidence that the childrens' language was an imitation of their mother's. (SL)

Comments on James J. Fernandes' article (CS 706 160). (PD)

Semiotics and its role in the college curriculum are discussed. Semiotics is defined as an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the study of those entities that effect communication between interpreters of signs. Specifics of the discipline are discussed through examples from various fields. (SF)

Presented are 22 papers given at a 1975 symposium on language and communication research problems with the deaf. Major papers have the following titles and authors: "Manual English--What We Know and What We'd Like to Know" (G. Gustason); "Communication with Foreign Deaf Signers--Attitudes, Experiences, and Observations" (R. Battison and K.…

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…

To determine if imagery mediates memory for signs and words, 80 sign-language-fluent Ss -- half of whom were congenitally deaf and half of whom were normal-hearing -- were tested by varying the imagery values of stimuli. The relative efficacy of word and sign codes in processing and retrieving information was studied by systematically varying the…

Surveys recent literature on the origins of language, and speculates on the history of human language, especially on the factors contributing to the change from a gestoral to a vocal system. (Available from the University of Alabama Press, Periodicals Department, Drawer 2877, University, Alabama 35486.) (AM)

Language intervention approaches were built into a residential environment for 13 women with severe mental retardation. Two residents were assigned to an intensive signing program, two to an "Intro-talker and signing" group, and the remaining residents to various comparison-intervention and comparison groups. Increases in positive communicative…

This book reports the proceedings of the conference on the role of speech in language, the fifth conference in the "Communicating by Language" Series, sponsored by the Growth and Development Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The focus of the first group of papers is on the development of speech in man and…

Communication methods for the hearing impaired are discussed in 12 conference papers. Papers from the United States are "Adjustment through Oralism" by G. Fellendorf, "Prospectus of Patterning" (a method of teaching speech to deaf children) by M.S. Buckler, and "Visual Monitoring of Speech by the Deaf" by W.…