Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effect of Iconicity on Phonetic and Phonological Processes in American Sign Language

博士论文研究：象似性对美国手语语音和音系过程的影响

• 批准号: 1941813
• 负责人: Elizabeth Zsiga
• 金额: $ 1.56万
• 依托单位: Georgetown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-03-01 至 2023-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1941813&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Effect; Iconicity

This dissertation research project examines a difference in the structure of spoken and signed languages. Although they are gestural/visual rather than auditory, signed languages, such as American Sign Language (ASL), are full languages with equal expressive complexity. This has only been recently recognized, however, so ASL research is in its infancy. Comparing signed and spoken languages can reveal the basic cognitive principles that underlie human language. The present study focuses on iconicity, which means that a word or sign resembles its meaning. For example, the sounds in the English word 'pop' mimic a popping noise, and the arrangement of the arm and fingers in the ASL sign 'tree' resemble a tree trunk and branches. Most spoken words are not iconic, but iconic signs are the norm rather than the exception in ASL. This study asks whether iconicity impacts the grammatical patterns of ASL. Do iconic and non-iconic signs function differently? Answering this question will help us better understand how the physical form of a language (speech or sign) impacts its mental organization.To answer this question, grammatical patterns that occur in natural, everyday signing are compared in how they apply to iconic and non-iconic signs. Deaf adult participants are video recorded responding to open-ended prompts about Deaf cultural events. They then watch video clips of ASL signs and sentences in which specific grammatical patterns apply to iconic and non-iconic signs. They respond to each clip, indicating whether the ASL they saw is grammatically correct. If participants apply grammatical patterns differently to iconic versus non-iconic signs, this is evidence that iconicity is part of the grammatical structure of ASL, not just of individual signs, suggesting a fundamental difference from the structure of spoken languages. But if grammatical patterns apply in the same way to iconic and non-iconic signs, this suggests that even though individual signs are more iconic than spoken language words, this property does not impact the language’s grammatical structure. These findings will deepen our understanding of human language beyond what we can learn through spoken language research alone. This knowledge can inform a wide range of applications, such as language acquisition for Deaf babies and training for ASL interpreters. The video narratives collected in the study will be made publicly available and can also serve research in language teaching, interpretation, and Deaf cultural studies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

本论文的研究项目考察了口语和手语在结构上的差异。虽然它们是手势/视觉而不是听觉的，但手语，如美国手语(ASL)，是具有同样表达复杂性的完整语言。然而，这只是最近才被认识到的，因此ASL研究还处于初级阶段。比较手语和口语可以揭示人类语言的基本认知原则。本研究的重点是象似性，即一个词或符号与其意义相似。例如，英语单词“POP”中的发音模仿爆裂的声音，而ASL符号“TREE”中手臂和手指的排列则类似于树干和树枝。大多数口语单词都不是象征性的，但象征性符号在美国手语中是常态，而不是例外。本研究旨在探讨象似性是否会影响ASL的语法模式。标志性标志和非标志性标志的功能是否不同？回答这个问题将帮助我们更好地理解语言(言语或手势)的物理形式如何影响它的心理组织。为了回答这个问题，我们比较了自然的日常手势中出现的语法模式如何应用于标志性和非标志性标志。成年聋人参与者对关于聋人文化活动的开放式提示做出反应的视频被录制下来。然后，他们观看美国手语符号和句子的视频剪辑，其中特定的语法模式适用于标志性和非标志性标志。他们对每个片段做出反应，表明他们看到的ASL在语法上是否正确。如果参与者对标志性符号和非标志性符号使用不同的语法模式，这就证明了象似性是美国手语语法结构的一部分，而不仅仅是个别符号的语法结构，这表明与口语的结构有根本的不同。但是，如果语法模式同样适用于标志性和非标志性标志，这表明即使个别标志比口语单词更具有标志性，这一特性并不影响语言的语法结构。这些发现将加深我们对人类语言的理解，而不仅仅是我们通过口语研究所能学到的。这些知识可以指导广泛的应用，如聋儿的语言习得和ASL口译员的培训。研究中收集的视频叙述将公开提供，也可以服务于语言教学、口译和聋人文化研究的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

The Effect of Iconicity on Weak Hand Drop in American Sign Language

美国手语中象征性对弱手落下的影响

• DOI: 10.3765/amp.v9i0.5305
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Proceedings of the Annual Meetings on Phonology
• 作者: Becker, Amelia Ann