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

本研究将回答两个与手语的异同有关的问题。这两种语言都是通过分析手势、手语和手语中产生的手形的模式来解决的。首先，手语中某些特定语言的差异是否归因于类型学类别(而不是随机变异或历史关联性)？类型学的区别涉及手形中使用的两种象似性(手作为对象和手作为手)，以及它们在整个语法中的分布情况--在名词、动词和产出式词法中。这项研究将包括来自四个国家的签字人：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，类型学在手语中也被认为具有同样的解释力。第二个要解决的问题是：手语之间的差异是如何出现的？一种特定的手语和周围的特定文化手势是否共享手形的象似性模式？或者只有当手势被用作主要的交流手段(手势和手语)时，才会出现手形图案？来自尼加拉瓜的手势者、家庭签名者和签名者将参与回答这个问题，以及来自上述每个国家的手势者的控制组。预计手势系统将在手语和主手语方面形成不同的模式，这两种语言的行为应该更加相似。如果得到证实，这将是手语模式与听力人使用的周围手势模式不连续的证据，而是源于手势作为唯一交流手段的持续使用。这将阐明“先天”与“后天”的问题。由于不再可能追踪言语中从“非语言”到“语言”的变化，这项工作有助于我们理解语言的出现。除了更好地了解手语的性质和影响它们之间差异的因素外，这个项目还将使改进的评估方法得以发展，以评估典型和非典型的二语发展。该项目还将为本科生提供宝贵的培训机会，并将使新的国际科学合作成为可能。

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.