Toward a Phonetic Representation of
Hand Configuration: The Fingers
In this article we describe a componential, articulatory approach to the
phonetic description of the configuration of the four fingers. Abandoning
the traditional holistic, perceptual approach, we propose a system
of notational devices and distinctive features for the description
of the four fingers proper (index, middle, ring, and pinky). Specifically,
we suggest that the configuration of the fingers is best understood
as a componential combination of the positions of each of the
three joints of each finger.
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Features and Natural Classes in ASL
Handshapes
This article argues for the necessity of phonetic analysis in signed language
linguistics and presents a case study of one analytical system being used in a
preliminary attempt to identify natural classes and investigate variation in ASL
handshapes.
Robbin Battison (1978) first described what is now a widely accepted list of
basic handshapes, including those involved in the ASL signs for the letters A,
B, C, S, and O and the numbers 1 and 5. These handshapes are said to be
theoretically similar to the more common (and thus more basic) phonemes of
spoken languages, and an equally wide cross-linguistic distribution is expected.
However, without a subhandshape level of description and analysis, precise
differences and similarities among and between handshapes are impossible to
examine. Robert E. Johnson and Scott K. Liddell (forthcoming) provide a
componential, feature-based transcription system in which groups of symbols
describe phonetic elements of the handshape (such as finger selection and joint
flexion/extension), allowing the identification of natural classes and potential
phonemes.
This study compares standard adult forms of signs with the forms produced by a
two-year-old child and focuses on the phonetic features of hand configuration.
Child-production errors have been noted to often involve the substitution of
less marked hand configurations for more highly marked ones (see Siedlecki and
Bonvillian 1993; Takkinen 2003); I suggest that the specific handshapes involved
in the substitutions may be motivated by features shared between the target and
the produced forms and that this phenomenon is apparent only with a phonetic
feature-level (as opposed to the more usual phonemic category-level)
transcription of the data.
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Numeral Variation in New Zealand
Sign Language
Lexical variation abounds in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and is commonly
associated with the introduction of the Australasian Signed English lexicon into
Deaf education in 1979, before NZSL was acknowledged as a language. Evidence
from dictionaries of NZSL collated between 1986 and 1997 reveal many coexisting
variants for the numbers from one to twenty in NZSL. This article reports on an
empirical investigation of how the use of variants for numerals is associated
with social factors of age, region, and gender. Results confirm that age group
is the strongest factor in variation and that region also plays a role. The
analysis of illustrative cases of number variation reveals sociolinguistic
processes of social differentiation and changing lexical usage in the NZSL
community. Findings provide comparative data on aspects of number variation
reported in the closely related British Sign Language.
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How Teacher Mediation during Video
Viewing Facilitates Literacy Behaviors
There is increasing support for using media products as early intervention tools
for deaf children. Because deaf children are visual learners, products such as
interactive DVDs and videos can be an effective supplement in the teaching of
ASL and literacy skills to deaf children. While adult mediation during literacy
activities has been shown to have a positive impact on deaf children�s early
literacy skills, little is known about the effects of adult mediation of
preschool deaf children�s interactions with educational media. The current study
investigated whether preschool teachers (n = 3) fostered deaf children�s (n = 9)
engagement during their repeated viewing of a literacy-focused educational video
(in ASL). Descriptive statistics and t-tests were conducted to examine teachers�
and students� literacy-related engagement behaviors during each day of viewing.
In addition, students� behaviors in the current study were compared to those of
students in a previous study to determine whether children�s literacy-related
behaviors differed according to the presence or absence of teacher mediation
during video viewing. Results indicate that while children�s engagement
behaviors increased without adult mediation, viewings with teacher mediation
elicited even greater literacy engagement behaviors. These findings support the
use of research-based educational media in ASL that provide strong literacy and
language exposure for young deaf children.
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Computer-Assisted Learning in British
Sign Language
The fact that language teaching can be operationalized through computer-assisted
language learning (CALL) has directed researchers� attention to the learning
task, which, in this case, is considered to be the unit that demands analysis of
the communicative processes in which the learner is involved while working with
CALL. Research focuses on understanding the cognitive and social processes that
CALL tasks create, such as the input they provide to learners, the interactions
they offer, and the opportunities they provide to learners to produce the
language. This study investigated the use of CALL, specifically SignLab, in the
teaching and learning of British Sign Language (BSL). The primary research
objective was to identify how students and teaching assistants used the hardware
and software in order to learn and teach BSL, as well as their attitudes toward
this technology. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and interviews
with students and teaching assistants with regard to their perceptions of BSL
learning and teaching. Classroom observations were also conducted to investigate
the actual teaching and learning activity occurring in the SignLab classroom.
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