Tactile Signing: A Variety of American Sign Language

这个项目研究了触觉美国手语的语言特性和变化，触觉美国手语是一种主要由患有Ushers综合征1型的聋哑成年人使用的ASL。 Ushers综合征1型是一种遗传性疾病，患者天生耳聋，患有视网膜色素变性（RP），这种疾病会导致视力缓慢丧失。 许多成年人与Ushers成长为聋人社区的成员，并使用“视觉”美国手语作为他们的主要沟通手段。 直到后来，当他们的视力受到严重影响，以至于他们很难看到美国手语时，他们才切换到通过把手放在签名者的手上来简单地接收（美国手语）。研究这些聋哑人使用的触觉ASL提供了一个独特的社会语言学的机会，以检查语言的变化，视觉语言（ASL）经历的聋哑社区适应thelanguage触觉模式（触觉ASL）。 一个大型的触觉ASL数据库将通过录像采访创建，其中一个聋盲成人，流利的触觉ASL，采访其他同样流利的聋盲成人。目标语音，词汇，句法和语篇特征将被检查的变化和内部和外部约束的相关性。

This project examines the linguistic properties and variation that occurin Tactile American Sign Language, a variety of ASL used primarily byDeaf-Blind adults having Ushers Syndrome Type 1. Ushers Syndrome Type1 is a hereditary genetic condition in which a person is born deaf andhas retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a condition that causes a slow loss ofvision. Many adults with Ushers grew up as members of the Deaf communityand used 'visual' ASL as their primarily means of communication. Only later,when their vision became so affected that they had difficulty seeingASL, did they switch to receiving (American Sign Language) tactilely by putting theirhand on top of the signer's hand. Studying the Tactile ASL used by these Deaf-Blind adults provides aunique sociolinguistic opportunity to examine linguistic changes that avisual language (ASL) undergoes as the Deaf-Blind community adapts thelanguage to a tactile mode (Tactile ASL). A large corpus of Tactile ASL datawill be created by videotaping interviews in which a Deaf-Blind adult, fluentin Tactile ASL, interviews other equally fluent Deaf-Blind adults. Targetedphonological, lexical, syntactic and discourse features will be examined forvariation and for correlations with internal and external constraints.