Responses of 162 deaf adults to an interview survey indicated findings including that sign language should be learned at an early age, before speech; that language should be acquired bilingually; and that American Sign Language and English signs should form the basis of the two languages. (Author)

Discusses deaf criminal suspects in two categories. The first involves deaf suspects who are proficient in the use of one or more of the following languages or modes: American Sign language, manually coded English, contact language, and indigenous or foreign sign languages. The second involves deaf suspects who are not proficient in any language.…

A synopsis of research on language, cognition, and communication in deaf students and adults explores basic linguistic processes, evaluates present understanding of sign language as a language, and relates language to ethnicity and biculturalism, concluding that American Sign Language should be the preferred language of instruction. (Author/CL)

Surveys completed by 1,760 teachers of hearing impaired students revealed an overwhelming preference for English over American Sign Language as the language used in classroom communication. Signs appeared to be used most consistently in residential and day schools. (CL)

Using data from American and Quebec Sign Languages, this article argues against linguistic theories that postulate either that a language has a basic order determined by universal principles or that there is a single universal order for all languages. Maintains that there are other means a language can use to indicate what elements combine…

Describes strategies used in a demonstration project monitoring teachers' use of Manually Coded English, American Sign Language, and pidgin signing in communicating with deaf students. Factors considered to influence teacher behavior included student characteristics, teacher training and certification, and support systems. (Author/CB)

Thirty children (ages 3-9) with deafness were asked to sign a story in American Sign Language. Qualitative differences were found between native and early signers on measures relating to the aspectual complexity of signs but not on measures relating to the complexity of the utterance. (Author/CR)

Summarizes research demonstrating advantages of using British Sign Language, Italian Sign Language, and American Sign Language (ASL) as a second language with young children. Reports a qualitative study to determine whether American kindergartners can achieve bilingual ability in English and ASL in one academic year through exposure to a native…

Testing of deaf readers' comprehension of relative clause structures in written English, signed English, and American Sign Language suggests that a specific syntactic disability does not differentiate good from poor deaf readers, but rather a processing deficit may underlie poor readers' comprehension difficulties. (Author/CB)

We introduce a new method of sign language subtitling aimed at young deaf children who have not acquired reading skills yet, and can communicate only via signs. The method is based on: 1) the recently developed concept of "semantroid[TM]" (an animated 3D avatar limited to head and hands); 2) the design, development, and psychophysical evaluation…

Research into the sign languages of the deaf is reviewed, particularly as it relates to the study and use of sign language in the Irish context. The first section offers an overview of deafness, the deaf experience, acquisition of linguistic and social identity, the sociology of the deaf community, and the role of sign language. Subsequent…

Reports the results of using techniques of historical-comparative linguistics to determine the extent to which American Sign Language (ASL) has influenced basic vocabulary in Modern Standard Thai Sign Language (MSTSL), and the relationship of MSTSL to sign language varieties used in Thailand prior to ASL influence. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Examines from a creolist perspective the claim that American Sign Language (ASL) has creole origins. Applying criteria based on the work of various creole researchers, the article concludes that the evidence for creole origins of ASL does not meet any usual definition of a creole. The article discusses lexical and morhosyntactic similarities…

Differential acquisition of American Sign Language and Amerind signs was compared among moderately to severely mentally handicapped adolescents (n=10) in a residential training facility. Results showing both quicker acquisition and stronger retention of Amerind signs were thought to result from the more concrete and less complex nature of Amerind…

Discusses the development of manual sign codes for use in the education of children with deafness as an example of language planning activity. Argues that the development of manual sign codes can be seen as a misguided effort that ignores the linguistic bases of natural sign languages and the language rights of the deaf community. (contains 84…