History of SLS
Known
by many as the father of the linguistics of American Sign language, William C. Stokoe began publication
of Sign Language Studies in 1972. With the encouragement of Thomas Sebeok, Stokoe created his
seminal journal as an outgrowth of his pioneering studies of the structure of American Sign language
and the dynamics of Deaf communities. From then until recently, SLS has presented a unique
forum for revolutionary papers on signed languages and other related disciplines, including linguistics,
anthropology, semiotics, and deaf studies, history, and literature.
After a three-year hiatus, Sign Language Studies commenced publication in the Fall of 2000. The new editor is David F. Armstrong, distinguished anthropologist and author of Original Signs: Gesture, Sign, and the Sources of Language, and also the coauthor of Gesture and the Nature of Language with Stokoe and Sherman Wilcox. A long-time collaborator with Stokoe, Armstrong became a member of the SLS editorial board in 1986. Order Sign Language Studies now, and also read an interview with new SLS editor David F. Armstrong.