How grammar can cope with limited short-term memory: Simultaneity and seriality in sign languages
How grammar can cope with limited short-term memory: Simultaneity and seriality in sign languages
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cognition.2007.04.014
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发表时间：
2008-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Cecchetto, Carlo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Geraci, Carlo;Gozzi, Marta;Cecchetto, Carlo
众所周知，在美国手语（ASL）的跨度是短于英语，但这种差异从来没有被系统地调查使用其他对签署和口头语言。这一发现与表明符号的短时记忆（STM）具有类似于单词的STM的内部组织的结果不一致。此外，一些方法问题仍然悬而未决。因此，我们分别测量了意大利手语（LIS）和意大利语的（leaf）和匹配听力参与者的跨度，控制了可能导致差异的所有可能变量：然而，聋人手语者和听力说话者之间的跨度差异被发现。我们把较低跨度的来源归因于符号的内部结构：事实上，与英语（或意大利语）单词不同，符号包含同时和连续的成分。尽管如此，手语是完全成熟的语法系统，可能是因为手语语法的整体架构减少了STM的负载。我们的假设是，语言能力依赖于STM，然而，即使在相对敌对的环境中，STM也足够灵活地发展。(C)2007 Elsevier B.V.保留所有权利。
It is known that in American Sign Language (ASL) span is shorter than in English, but this discrepancy has never been systematically investigated using other pairs of signed and spoken languages. This finding is at odds with results showing that short-term memory (STM) for signs has an internal organization similar to STM for words. Moreover, some methodological questions remain open. Thus, we measured span of (leaf and matched hearing participants for Italian Sign Language (LIS) and Italian, respectively, controlling for all the possible variables that might be responsible for the discrepancy: yet, a difference in span between deaf signers and hearing speakers was found. However, the advantage of hearing subjects was removed in a visuo-spatial STM task. We attribute the source of the lower span to the internal structure of signs: indeed, unlike English (or Italian) words, signs contain both simultaneous and sequential components. Nonetheless, sign languages are fully-fledged grammatical systems, probably because the overall architecture of the grammar of signed languages reduces the STM load. Our hypothesis is that the faculty of language is dependent on STM, being however flexible enough to develop even in a relatively hostile environment. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.