Conceptually Signed English is advocated as a sign system for hearing impaired persons that reduces the confusion of other sign languages and takes idiomatic usage into account. (CL)

Gives the text of an interview with James Woodward on the use of American Sign Language in the classroom. Also discusses the teaching of English in deaf and hearing situations. Available from the English Department, Gallaudet College, Washington, DC 20002. (EKN)

Discusses how to use currently available standard ESL material with deaf students. Available from the English Department, Gallaudet College, Washington, DC 20002. (EKN)

Discusses the special problems of interpreting hymns written in archaic English and then matching words of a translation to music. Addresses the question of whether competence in ASL and knowledge of signs for religious terms are sufficient for hymns to be of value to deaf worshippers. (EKN)

A communication program of Amer-Ind (a gestural communication system based on American Indian Hand Talk) was developed for 21 severely and profoundly mentally retarded children (8 to 18 years old). (Author)

American Sign Language (ASL), the native language of the deaf, should be used in the classroom to assess its value in the overall educational development of deaf children. Other sign systems in greater use fail to account for the cultural effect of ASL in the deaf community. (Author)

Reports on an investigation of American Sign Language signs relating to the deaf gay community or used exclusively by its members. Both heterosexual and homosexual informants were used to determine which signs were known only to the gay community. Attitudes of both groups toward these words was also explored. (Author/PJM)

One year after the first evaluation, teachers rated 18 hearing impaired children on their frequency of use of the Signed English markers. On the average, the group showed a slight improvement in their use of the marker system. Additionally, frequency of use of each of the 14 markers was also rated by the teachers. (Author)

Discusses Providence Island Sign Language (PSL), an autochthonous and relatively immature language of about 20 speakers. It is a nascent and evolving language whose description can produce rich results for linguistic theory. Such a description will also be an explanation of the phylogeny of a linguistic system. (Author/PJM)

Two experiments examined whether Deaf signers or hearing nonsigners exhibit categorical perception (CP) for hand configuration or for place of articulation in American Sign Language. Findings that signers and nonsigners performed similarly suggests that these categories in American Sign Language have a perceptual as well as a linguistic basis.…

Discusses the Brazilian Sign language digital encyclopedia, which contains a databank of 5,600 signs glossed in Portuguese and English, along with descriptions and illustrations of their signed form. (Author/VWL)

Explores the outcome of a publicly-funded research project titled "Redesign of the British Sign Language (BSL) Notation System with a New Font for Use in ICT." The aim of the project was to redesign the British Sign Language variant of Stokoe notation for practical use in information technology systems and software, such as lexical…

Investigates deaf and hearing subjects' ratings of American Sign Language (ASL) signs to assess whether linguistic experience shapes judgments of sign similarity. Findings are consistent with linguistic theories that posit movement and location as core structural elements of syllable structure in ASL. (Author/VWL)

"Patterns of the Mind," by Ray Jackendoff, and "The Language Instinct," by Steven Pinker, are reviewed. Each are written to support the theory that language is predetermined by genetically endowed brain structure but also include discussions of studies that use sign language to confirm the standard model of linguistic theory. (Contains seven…

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.…