The scope of signed phonological generalizations

每一种语言都包含一个语音系统，它将单词表达为无意义元素的模式。此外，人们很容易将这些模式推广到他们以前从未听说过的新形式。例如，人们一听到“bagogo”和“malulu”的形式，就会迅速提取ABB模式，并将其扩展为“wufifi”。这些关于口语的结果意义重大，因为它们表明人类大脑通过抽象规则对语言语音模式进行编码。然而，语音模式并不局限于口语。就像口头语言一样，每一种手语都表现出（手工）语音模式，而手语者将这些模式扩展为新的形式。因此，人们可以问规则是构成所有语言的一部分，还是仅仅构成口语系统的一部分。手语和口语设计上的相似之处（和差异）意义重大，因为它们使我们能够确定自然语言的某些特征是否是人类语言生物能力的核心，而不考虑其传播的具体方式（语音与手势）。这项拟议的研究旨在衡量规则在手语音韵学中的作用。为此，本研究将研究手语音韵学提供的概括范围，以确定这些概括是否最好地由代数或非代数（统计和视觉/语音）机制捕获。作为一个案例研究，贝伦特博士将调查美国手语中的重复规则。需要解决的问题包括：签名者是否可以自由地概括重复模式——不管新项目与熟悉的签名元素是否相似；以及重复依赖于语言知识还是视觉重复。例如，实验将检验重复是否取决于各种语言相关变量，如符号的词汇状态；是否依赖于参与者使用美国手语的语言经验。该项目还包括一组近红外光谱（NIRS）研究，以探索新生儿对重复的敏感性。研究结果将揭示人类语言能力的基础。通过探索典型语音系统的结构，本项目的发现与我们对语音相关的临床障碍的理解有关，从特定语言障碍到阅读障碍。这项对手语语音系统的调查也可以通过为研究性教育实践提供信息，帮助聋人提高阅读能力。

Every language includes a phonological system that expresses words as patterns of meaningless elements. Moreover, people readily generalize these patterns to novel forms that they have never heard before. For example, upon hearing the forms "bagogo" and "malulu", people rapidly extract the ABB pattern and they extend it to "wufifi". These results from spoken languages are significant because they suggest that human brains encode linguistic phonological patterns by means of abstract rules. Phonological patterns however, are not limited to spoken languages. Like their spoken counterparts, every sign language exhibits (manual) phonological patterns, and signers extend those patterns to novel forms. Accordingly, one can ask whether rules form part of all languages, or of spoken systems alone. Similarities (and differences) in the design of signed and spoken languages are significant because they allow us to determine whether some features of natural language are core to the human biological capacity for language, irrespective of the specific modality (speech vs. manual gestures) in which it is transmitted. The proposed research seeks to gauge the role of rules in sign language phonology. To this end, this investigation will examine the scope of generalizations afforded by sign language phonology to determine whether these generalizations are best captured by algebraic or non-algebraic (statistical and visual/phonetic) mechanisms. As a case study, Dr. Berent will investigate the reduplication rule in American Sign Language. Among the issues to be addressed are: whether signers freely generalize the reduplication pattern across the board--irrespective of the similarity of novel items to familiar signed elements; and whether reduplication relies on linguistic knowledge or visual repetition. For example, experiments will examine whether reduplication depends on various linguistically-relevant variables such as the lexical status of the signs; and whether it is dependant on participants' linguistic experience with ASL. The project also includes a set of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) studies to explore sensitivity to reduplication in neonates. Results will shed light on the basis of the human capacity for language. By exploring the structure of typical phonological systems, the findings from this project are relevant to our understanding of the host of clinical disorders linked to phonology, ranging from specific language impairment to dyslexia. This investigation of signed phonological systems may also help promote reading gains among deaf individuals by informing research-based educational practices.