This article describes several types of native American nonspeech communications systems, including the Plains sign language, distance signaling of various kinds, picture writing and whistle speech. See FL 508 188 for availability. (CLK)

In an examination of the acquisition of the spatial syntax of American Sign Language (ASL), 43 children aged 3-10 years were given a range of comprehension and elicitation tests designed to analyze the subsystems involved in the corrrect use of ASL syntax. The subsystems were nominal establishment, verb agreement, and consistency of reference. The…

Teletext broadcasting in the Japanese Language was begun in 1983 by the NHK (Japanese Broadcasting Corporation). It adopts the Pattern Transmission Method, since over 3,000 Chinese characters, in addition to the 46 Katakana and 46 Hiragana syllabaries, are necessary to write sentences in Japanese. Currently, the teletext programs consist of news,…

A discussion focusing on whether American Sign Language (ASL) should be accepted in fulfillment of university foreign language requirements attempts to dispel misconceptions about the language; and to show that ASL can provide the same benefits as the study of more traditional foreign languages, including the opportunity to communicate in another…

A "working party" (a decision-making group similar to the quality circles concept) comprised of public elementary school personnel (administrator, regular and special education staff), and parents, university special education faculty and graduate students worked cooperatively to develop and implement a manual sign inservice training package to…

The problem of English language-processing by 30 prelingually deaf high school students is examined from a contextualist perspective. The influence of language mode (print or sign) and syntax--English or American Sign Language (ASL) on recall, preference, and comprehension was approached through the processing of meaningful and coherent passages…

Nonverbal communication is an important and little-understood aspect of human communication. This book deals primarily with two aspects of nonverbal communication: paralanguage and kinesics. "Paralanguage" includes vocalizations such as hissing, shushing, and whistling, as well as speech modifications such as quality of voice (sepulchral, whiny,…

Reports on the 1974 visit of the Linguistics Delegation to the People's Republic of China, specifically to two schools for the deaf. Outlines the role, goals, methods and curriculum of education for the deaf in that country. (CLK)

The following articles are presented in the section of the Northeast Conference Report on less frequently taught languages: (1) "American Sign Language," by M. Conwell and A. Nelson; (2) "Chinese," by D. Gidman; (3) "Japanese," by J. P. Berwald and T. Phipps; (4) "Latin," by M. Cleary; (5) "Portuguese," by R. Pedro Carvalho; and (6) "Russian," by…

This is a selection of papers that have appeared in the journal "Sign Language Studies" between 1972 and 1979. The aim is to provide the reader with some knowledge of the world as signers see it. The book is for academic decision-makers, teachers and parents of deaf students, as well as the intellectually curious. Following an introductory essay,…

Linguistics retains from its antecedents, philology and the study of sacred writings, some of their apologetic and theological bias. Thus it has not been able to face squarely the question how linguistic function may have evolved from animal communication. Chimpanzees' use of signs from American Sign Language forces re-examination of language…

A framework which considers speech and language as separate entities in a symbiotic relationship is presented, and basic questions are raised concerning how speech and language function together and what their reciprocal effects are. Based on the notion that speech and language are independent, various examples of speech without language and of…

Presented are issues, background information, and a definition pertaining to manual communication, and explored are aspects of language development in aurally handicapped children. Proposed is a functional definition of American Sign Language, with High(H) (a system that accommodates itself to English, such as manual English) and Low (L) (a system…

The history and development of various sign languages in Europe and America are described, and the characteristics of manual communication systems are discussed. Modifications of sign language have been used to communicate with nonvocal austic children, severely language-delayed children, and retarded adults. (CTM)

Native signs used as basic kin terms in 20 sign languages from several sign language families are examined. (Author/NCR)