The nature of this research study examines the relationship between text-talking and writing skills used by American Sign Language (ASL) and English speakers. When given ample opportunity to text-talk in academic settings, it is likely that students will improve their expressive communication and writing skills. The main research question asks:…

Analysis of spontaneous storytelling samples of deaf 5- to 7-year-olds (N=15), all exposed to manually coded English for some time, differentially showed characteristics more consistent with either English or Sign Language in the language areas of explicit relations, mimed relations, incorporated relations, and English Functors. (CB)

Longitudinal study of a deaf child's (with deaf signing and speaking parents) speech functions revealed that the child, before age three, rarely attempted speech imitation. By age five, the child had acquired new words through speechreading and had adjusted language modes to listener needs for flexible communication, and speech behavior assumed…

Two possible iconic models of the acquisition of verb agreement in American Sign Language (ASL) are developed and contrasted with a third, morphological account of the acquisition of this aspect of ASL. Additionally, data from spontaneous conversation of deaf children who have deaf parents are considered to test these three models. An iconic model…

Presented is a collection of 14 conference papers on various aspects of child language acquisition. Papers and authors include: "Language and Psychological Development" (Jean Berko Gleason); "Regression in the Phonological Development of Two Children" (Ken M. Bleile, J. Bruce Tomblin); "Children's Acquisition of the…