The Typology of Handshape: Gesture, Homesign, and Sign Language

手形的类型学：手势、手语和手语

• 批准号: 1227908
• 负责人: Diane Brentari
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: University of Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-15 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1227908&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Typology; Handshape; Gesture; Homesign; Sign

This research will answer two related questions concerning differences and similaarities across signed languages. Both are addressed by analyzing the patterns of the handshapes produced in gesture, homesign and sign languages. First, are some language-specific differences in sign languages attributable to typological class (rather than to random variation or historical relatedness)? The typological distinction involves two types of iconicity used in handshape (hand-as-object vs. hand-as-hand) and how they are distributed throughout the grammar -- in nouns, verbs, and productive morphology. The study will include signers from four countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Italy. Typology has been an important tool in predicting variation among spoken languages, and typology is hypothesized to have the same explanatory power in signed languages. The second question to be addressed is: How do differences among sign languages emerge? Are the patterns of iconicity in handshape shared by a particular sign language and the surrounding culturally specific gestures used by hearing people? Or do handshape patterns emerge only when gesture is used as the primary means of communication (homesign and sign language)? Gesturers, homesigners, and signers from Nicaragua will be involved in answering this question, along with a control group of gesturers from each of the countries mentioned above. It is expected that gesture systems will pattern differently with respect to sign languages and homesign, which are expected to behave more similarly to one another. If confirmed, this will be evidence that sign language patterns are not continuous with those of the surrounding gestural patterns that hearing people use, but rather stem from continued use of gesture as the sole means of communication. This will shed light on the "nature" vs. "nurture" question. Since it is no longer possible to trace the change from "non-language" to "language" in speech, this work contributes to our understanding of the emergence of language.In addition to providing a better understanding of the properties of signed languages and the factors that influence variation among them, this project will enable the development of improved methods for assessing typical and atypical SL development. The project will also provide valuable training opportunities for undergraduate students, and will enable the creation of new, international scientific collaborations.

这项研究将回答有关签名语言之间差异和相似性的两个相关问题。两者都是通过分析手势，家庭词和标志语言产生的手印的模式来解决的。首先，是否归因于类型学类别（而不是随机变化或历史相关性）的某些语言特定差异？ 类型学的区别涉及握手中使用的两种类型的标志性（手动对象与手动），以及它们如何在整个语法中分布 - 在名词，动词和生产性形态中。 该研究将包括来自四个国家的签名者：美国，英国，香港和意大利。类型学一直是预测口语差异的重要工具，并且假设类型学在签名语言中具有相同的解释能力。要解决的第二个问题是：符号语言之间的差异如何出现？ 特定手语和周围的文化特定手势所使用的握手的标志性模式是否是听力的？ 还是只有当手势用作交流的主要手段（homesign and Migh语言）时才会出现握手模式？来自尼加拉瓜的男性，寄宿家庭和签名者将与上述每个国家的对照组一起回答这个问题。可以预期，手势系统在标志语言和家庭词方面的模式会有所不同，这些语言的行为与彼此相似。 如果得到证实，这将有证据表明，手语模式与听到人们使用的手势模式并不是连续的，而是源于继续使用手势作为唯一的交流手段。这将阐明“自然”与“养育”问题。 由于不再有可能追踪从“非语言”到语音中的“语言”的变化，因此这项工作有助于我们理解语言的出现。除了更好地理解签名语言的特性以及影响它们之间变化的因素的特性外，该项目将促进改进的评估典型和非物质SL开发方法的发展。该项目还将为本科生提供宝贵的培训机会，并能够创建新的国际科学合作。