Perceptual optimization of language: Evidence from American Sign Language
Perceptual optimization of language: Evidence from American Sign Language
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105040
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发表时间：
2022-02-19
期刊：
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Dye, Matthew
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Caselli, Naomi;Occhino, Corrine;Dye, Matthew
如果语言是为了交流而进化的，那么语言的结构应该是最大限度地提高处理效率。视觉-手势通道的交流效率不同于听觉-口头通道，我们在这里问手语是否适应了手势通道的负担和限制。在手势感知过程中，知觉者几乎只盯着脸的下部，很少低头看手。这意味着必须通过周边视觉感知远离面部下部的标志，周边视觉的敏锐度低于中央视觉。我们测试了一种假设，即更容易预测的迹象(高频迹象，常见手形的迹象)可以产生距离面部更远的地方，因为识别不需要精确的视觉分辨率。使用姿势估计算法，我们研究了2000多个美国手语词汇符号的结构，以确定词频和手形概率是否影响手腕在2D空间中的位置。我们发现，具有罕见手形的频繁手势往往比具有普通手形的频繁手势发生在离签名者面部更近的地方，而且频繁手势通常比不常见手势更有可能发音于距离面部更远的地方。总之，这些结果为坊间断言提供了经验支持，即手语的语音结构是由人类视觉和运动系统的特性决定的。
If language has evolved for communication, languages should be structured such that they maximize the efficiency of processing. What is efficient for communication in the visual-gestural modality is different from the auditory-oral modality, and we ask here whether sign languages have adapted to the affordances and constraints of the signed modality. During sign perception, perceivers look almost exclusively at the lower face, rarely looking down at the hands. This means that signs articulated far from the lower face must be perceived through peripheral vision, which has less acuity than central vision. We tested the hypothesis that signs that are more predictable (high frequency signs, signs with common handshapes) can be produced further from the face because precise visual resolution is not necessary for recognition. Using pose estimation algorithms, we examined the structure of over 2000 American Sign Language lexical signs to identify whether lexical frequency and handshape probability affect the position of the wrist in 2D space. We found that frequent signs with rare handshapes tended to occur closer to the signer's face than frequent signs with common handshapes, and that frequent signs are generally more likely to be articulated further from the face than infrequent signs. Together these results provide empirical support for anecdotal assertions that the phonological structure of sign language is shaped by the properties of the human visual and motor systems.