Handshapes with single finger extension are examined in data from 10 sign languages: American, Australian, British, Finnish, French, Japanese, Providence Island, Rennell Island, Indian, and Swedish. It is concluded that a theory of marking can be developed along the same lines as for spoken language, with only the physiology differing. (Author/MSE)

Advances a theoretical perspective for analyzing education and instructional technology as disciplines using the science of semiotics as a framework for identifying the components, relationships among components, and meanings of components in educational systems. A 30-item reference list accompanies the text. (Author/JL)

Investigates sentence processing in a visual-gestural language by testing signers' recognition for American Sign Language sentences. Results indicate that signers decompose a complex sign into its lexical and inflectional components during sentence comprehension and remember the meaning expressed by these components rather than remembering the…

Describes research projects and experiments in graphic design conducted at a number of colleges and universities. (GT)

Described is a means of telecommunication for the deaf. American video telephone (Picturephone) is a telephone for the deaf which transmits a picture of the sender who is able to use American Sign Language (ASL) and to fingerspell to the reader using video transmission. (DS)

Reports on an experiment describing the lexical development of a hearing child with a deaf mother and hearing father. Data confirm previous findings that (1) sign emerges before spoken word, (2) acquisition stages are similar in ASL and spoken English, and (3) the child initially develops one lexical system. (Author/AM)

Reports data and observations from videotapes showing interaction in everyday activities between deaf parents and both hearing and non-hearing infants. Discusses the several modes of communication used and the strategies employed to increase two-way communication. (PMJ)

Presents results of research of the use of simultaneous communication in deaf schools and its accuracy in representing English grammar. (AM)

Reports on an investigation into the gestural repertoire of a deaf child raised in an oral environment. (AM)

Instructional variables of program content, sequence, and time were carefully controlled over three years for 18 autistic children. The program, which employed a one-to-one and one-to-two teaching format, focused on language instruction. Students made significant language age gains over 24-month training periods. References are listed. (Author/JEG)

Examined whether the characteristics in perception of speech sounds found in preverbal hearing infants might extend to the perception of signed language in infants with congenital deafness. Seventeen Japanese mother-infant dyads participated in the study. Found that infants with deafness showed greater attentional and affective responsiveness to…

Examined longitudinally the handshape aspect of American Sign Language signs in young children of deaf parents. Parents demonstrated on videotape how the children formed the different signs. Findings reveal that four basic handshapes predominated in early sign production, and that the part of the hand involved in contacting a sign's location often…

A study investigated 10 Auslan/English interpreters' use of translation style when interpreting for a university lecture. Results found the interpreters predominantly used a free or literal interpretation approach, but switched between translation styles at particular points of a text, leading to the suggestion of the concept of translational…

A teacher of deaf children responds to a treatise recommending expanded use of American Sign Language (ASL) in deaf education by addressing the immediate problems that parents, teachers, school authorities, and linguists will need to carefully consider in implementing an ASL-based bilingual approach to educating young children. (CB)

The nineteenth-century debate over use of the manual versus the oral approach to deaf education is discussed and related to the prevailing social and educational thought. Both approaches are seen as oppressive and antideaf. Current efforts to reconceptualize deafness have produced calls for bilingual-bicultural programs. (IAH)