Reviews research from the fields of cognitive neuroscience and psycholinguistics, comparing spoken and signed language by looking at data concerning either cortical representations or early acquisition. (Author/VWL)

Twenty-four severely mentally retarded adolescents (with no uncorrected visual or hearing losses) were trained to use 16 manually signed English signs. Ss were randomly assiged to sign only, or sign plus speech conditions and performances were videotaped. Analysis of results revealed that all Ss learned some signs to criterion and all showed…

Four keynote papers, presented at an international conference on sign language research, discussed general linguistic issues of sign language, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and language acquisition. (CB)

A review of linguistic research on the nonmanual components of American Sign Language shows that the signer's face, head, torso, and eyegaze have important linguistic roles. The author's study illustrates how different combinations of facial and head movements signal different kinds of questions: yes-no, wh-, and rhetorical. (Author/CL)

Legislation and court cases are cited to underline the critical need of mental health services for hearing impaired persons. Effects of hospitalization on hearing impaired persons who use only sign language are said to render the hospitalization antitherapeutic. Suggestions are made to mental health centers to improve services. (CL)

Discusses the issue of the use of signed language dictionaries in the standardization of signed languages with reference to the Australian Sign language (Auslan) dictionaries. Details the structure of the Auslan dictionaries and argues that bilingual, bidirectional dictionaries of this type must be produced if communities are to encourage language…

Briefly describes five dictionaries of the signed languages used in Australia, Mexico, Italy, New Zealand, and Thailand. (CB)

Critiques the previous article by Torigoe and others (1995) and discusses research on indigenous gestural systems developed by people with deafness and shared with local hearing communities. Poses questions for further research in the field of indigenous gestural communication. (Seven references) (MDM)

The sign language of the American deaf community (ASL) is analyzed from a linguistic point of view. The history of the application of linguistic principles to sign language studies is briefly traced. The cherology (phonology) of sign language is treated with respect to finger spelling, manual numeration, ASL phonetics, and conventions of sign…

Research is reviewed on criteria for selecting signing as an augmentative communication mode (including learner's age and functioning level, and need for a portable system) and for selecting initial signs for severely handicapped students (including the sign's representational level and functionality). (CL)

Three questions regarding the use of sign language as an alternative communication system for nonverbal autistic children are examined. Data on effects on speech, the upper limits of sign acquisition, and effects on adaptive function are discussed. (Author/CL)

Reviews research on cerebral asymmetry in hearing persons, clinical studies on lateralization and sign language, and experimental research on cerebral asymmetry in deaf persons. (AM)

An overview of current knowledge about Russian Sign Language (RSL) and its use in Russia today notes that linguistic study of RSL is still in the beginning stages, defines issues that need to be studied, and suggests directions for further research. (28 references) (JL)

This article deals with two main topics: the interplay of iconicity and metaphors in signed language discourse and the relevance of sociocultural knowledge for a full understanding of LIS metaphors. In metaphors, the iconic features of signs play a role in the creative process of determining a mental fit between two different domains. Iconicity…

This literature review examines selected variables that may influence teachers' ability to read books to preschool and elementary deaf children in total communication programs. The paper explores the role of signs in reading stories and factors influencing the signability of stories, including reading rate, length of sentences, length of text used…