In the last few decades, investigations into the linguistic landscape (LL) have sought to analyse written language practices as they are observable in public space. Whilst the LL analysis of language choice in given contexts has opened a host of possibilities for scientific enquiry in the field, the methodologies employed in the collection and…

Recent technologies in the area of video and Internet are allowing the creation and online publication of large signed language corpora. Primarily addressing the needs of linguists and other researchers, because of their unique character in history these data collections are also made accessible online for a general audience. This "open access"…

At Winona State University's Krueger Library, where Kendall Larson is an associate professor and Allison Quam is an assistant professor, informational and directional signs are an essential part of the interior space. Yet the ubiquitous sign and media saturation has challenged them to design and maintain effective signage that is conspicuous and…

Joining scholars signaling the need for new directions in Deaf Studies, the authors recommend a more expansive, nuanced, and interdisciplinary approach that encompasses the many ways deaf people live today. Rather than destroy Deaf culture, this approach is the only realistic way to allow it and Deaf Studies to survive. Deaf Studies today…

Total enrollments (undergraduate and graduate) in languages other than English dropped by 9.2% between fall 2013 and fall 2016, as reported in the Modern Language Association's twenty-fifth language enrollment census. Despite the overall drop, there were gains in nearly half of all language programs (45.5%) that mitigate somewhat the downward…

This article argues for the necessity of phonetic analysis in signed language linguistics and presents a case study of one analytical system being used in a preliminary attempt to identify natural classes and investigate variation in ASL handshapes. Robbin Battison (1978) first described what is now a widely accepted list of basic handshapes,…

The papers in this special issue of "Language and Cognitive Processing" on the neural bases of language production illustrate two general approaches in current cognitive neuroscience. One approach focuses on investigating cognitive issues, making use of the logic of associations/dissociations or the logic of neural markers as key investigative…

There is a developing research base to support the rationale underpinning augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for people with learning disabilities. However, there is a paucity of research examining the process involved in implementing AAC support for people who have profound disabilities. This paper seeks to explore the processes…

In a mixed-methods study, which included surveys of 247 parents and 151 teachers, the researchers investigated the modes of communication used by children with cochlear implants and the role of signed communication in the children's lives. Findings indicated that 15%-20% of the children in the parent surveys and approximately 30% of the children…

Effective literacy education in deaf students calls for psycholinguistic research revealing the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying their written language processing. When learning a written language, deaf students are often instructed to sign out printed text. The present fMRI study was intended to reveal the neural substrates associated…

This review explores the literacy difficulties experienced by prelingual, profoundly deaf, sign-dominant adults. A critical overview of the existing literature identifies the importance of understanding their language experiences and word-coding preferences. Findings challenge the notion that a permanent lack of audition from birth prevents…

The theme for this year's annual graduate student conference of the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature (LLL) was "Your Voice, My Voice: Literature, Language, Culture and Society." Translation and interpretation guided the theme for the conference, with Dr. Marvin Puakea Nogelmeier of the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian…

The reading skills of many deaf children lag several years behind those of hearing children, and there is a need for identifying reading difficulties and implementing effective reading support strategies in this population. This study embraces a balanced reading approach, and investigates the efficacy of applying multi-sensory coding strategies…

This commentary traces discussions of psychological differences and deficits from the mid-1950s to the current day, positioning the disciplinary discussions in the social-historical context in which they took place. The challenges of assessing diagnoses of deficit and the potential harms that result when misdiagnosis is implemented as social…

The effectiveness of using American Sign Language (ASL) handshape stories to teach word recognition in whole stories using a descriptive case study approach was explored. Four profoundly deaf children ages 7 to 8, enrolled in a self-contained deaf education classroom in a public school in the south participated in the story time five-week…