Thirty-eight hearing adults' ability to comprehend English homonyms was evaluated from their transcriptions of two versions of a videotaped story, signed in either a literal sign model (Seeing Essential English 2) or a conceptual sign model (Pidgin Sign English). Participants' transcriptions were more successful after watching the literal version.…

Visual language mediation by hearing offspring was studied in deaf-parented families as part of a larger program of cross-sectional descriptive research into aspects of deaf parents' child-rearing performance. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 profoundly deaf adults and the oldest hearing school-aged offspring in the home. (12…

Explores the active role of the sign language interpreter in resolving simultaneous and overlapping speech, guided by social and linguistic knowledge of the entire communicative situation in making linguistic choices about what to interpret. (29 references) (Author/CB)

Offers a preliminary examination of several sign language varieties in use in Costa Rica and attempts to explain the relationship among these varieties. Based on comparative lexical data, it is postulated that at least four distinct sign languages exist in Costa Rica. Implications for future research are also discussed. (eight references) (JL)

Reflecting on the situation in Quebec, this paper attempts to offer a fair solution to the problem of the languages of signage. It is suggested that individuals and groups have the right to show their linguistic identity as well as to express themselves in the languages of their choice, provided that the rights of the addressees are also met. (VWL)

Examines the status and methods of bilingual education for deaf children, involving the teaching of a signed language, and compares such education to bilingual education involving two spoken languages. (Author/CB)

Examines attempts to teach primates how to communicate using sign language. Much of the debate over whether it is possible to teach primates to communicate centers on the definition of language. (Author/VWL)

Provides an overview of the nature of different types of signed languages and offers a detailed discussion of the research currently available with respect to South African Sign Language. (Author/VWL)

Outlines basic functions of passive constructions in language in general, and describes in more detail what form this takes in a proposal of American Sign Language (ASL). Compares discourse examples of active and passive constructions in ASL, addresses the role of topicalization in passive constructions, and discusses passives and reference…

Examines the course of young children's acquisition of the sign language formational aspects of location, handshape, and movement. Nine children and their sign-using parents participated in the study. One child was deaf; the other children were reported as having normal hearing. In seven families, both parents were deaf, and in the other two…

Focuses on the interaction of phonology with syntax, and to some extent, with meaning in a natural sign language. Adopts a theory of prosodic phonology, testing both its assumptions, which had been based on data from spoken language, and its predictions on the language of the Deaf community in Israel. (Author/VWL)

Presents tips on how to make school emergency communication procedures more efficient and effective. Highlights use of simple codes, and offers advice on staff training and emergency drills. (GR)

Are these students talking about their classmates? No, they are describing the Signing Avatar characters--3-D figures who appear on the EnViSci Network Web site and sign the resources and activities in American Sign Language (ASL) or Signed English (SE). During the 2003?04 school year, students in schools for the deaf and hard of hearing…

A case is described of a patient who has a compelling and persistent desire to become deaf. She often kept cotton wool moistened with oil in her ears and was learning sign language. Living without sound appeared to be a severe form of avoidance behavior from hyperacusis and misophonia. She had a borderline personality disorder that was associated…

Without written forms, signed languages do not permit the type of textual record available to speakers of English and other written languages. Deaf signers have generally relied on the language of the dominant hearing culture for this purpose. Because of their visual-gestural modality, signed languages present a unique set of challenges for…