We present the design of a new 3D animation tool for self-teaching (signing and reading) finger spelling the first basic component in learning any sign language. We have designed a highly realistic hand with natural animation of the finger motions. Smoothness of motion (in real time) is achieved via programmable blending of animation segments. The…

Three languages are widely used in schools in Kenya English, Kiswahili and Kenya Sign Language. Many pupils with hearing impairments are taught separately from the mainstream, in specialist settings. The fact that most of the formal teaching, assessment and examination processes in Kenyan schools rely upon spoken and written English compounds the…

Sign languages modulate the production of signs in space and use this spatial modulation to refer back to entities--to maintain coreference. We ask here whether spatial modulation is so fundamental to language in the manual modality that it will be invented by individuals asked to create gestures on the spot. English speakers were asked to…

This follow-up study identifies the relationship between pairings of parental hearing status and the regularity of signing with the deaf or hard of hearing student at home and in the classroom. Additionally, given that the incidence of intergenerational deafness has a major genetic component, parental hearing status in relation to the child's…

In the few studies that have been conducted, researchers have typically found that deaf adolescents have more mental health difficulties than their hearing peers and that, within the deaf groups, those who use spoken language have better mental health functioning than those who use sign language. This study investigated the hypotheses that mental…

It is approaching a half century since Bill Stokoe published his revolutionary monograph, "Sign Language Structure: An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf." It is rare for a work of innovative scholarship to spark a social as well as an intellectual revolution, but that is just what Stokoe's 1960 paper did. And it is…

Alexander Graham Bell is often portrayed as either hero or villain of deaf individuals and the Deaf community. His writings, however, indicate that he was neither, and was not as clearly definite in his beliefs about language as is often supposed. The following two articles, reprinted from The Educator (1898), Vol. V, pp. 3?4 and pp. 38?44,…

Every so often there are stories that take the world by storm and make such an impact that they become part of our everyday world. These stories, characters, and themes become established elements of cultural literacy. This is exactly what has happened with J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Harry and his cohort of wizards, witches, and their…

This study focuses on the mapping of events onto verb-argument structures in British Sign Language (BSL). The development of complex sentences in BSL is described in a group of 30 children, aged 3;2-12;0, using data from comprehension measures and elicited sentence production. The findings support two interpretations: firstly, in the mapping of…

In this article the linguistic features of three Italian Sign Language (Lingua Italiana dei Segni, or LIS) registers are analyzed focusing on iconic phenomena. Previous treatments of iconicity and motivation in spoken and signed language are discussed. Iconicity is defined as a regular mapping between expressive form and meaning that can be active…

Roy J. Stewart made two very significant contributions to Deaf America. He was a key member of a Gallaudet alumni committee (along with Harley D. Drake, class of 1904, and Frederick H. Hughes, class of 1913) that raised seed money for the construction of the Edward Miner Gallaudet Memorial Library, which was influential in Gallaudet's attaining…

Beginning your college education means you'll be exploring a new place, making new friends, learning new things and setting your own priorities. You are going to face a lot of big changes in a short time. That's exciting--and challenging. The more prepared you are for college when you get there, the more ready you'll be to address these new…

Researchers, the Deaf community, teachers of deaf children and speech and language therapists all share a concern about how to improve deaf children's written language skills. One part of literacy is story writing or narrative. A finding from a small number of studies is that children exposed to sign language from early childhood onwards achieve…

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a unique technological institute comprised of eight colleges, including the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. At the institute, deaf students and deaf culture intermingle (not always seamlessly) with students from other nations, states, and cities. Like most other universities, its students are…

For a number of years, sign language has been used in special education settings for learners with disabilities. Children with hearing loss, autism, cognitive disabilities, and language disorders have demonstrated improved communication skills with the use of signs. Recently, however, teachers have begun to use sign language with typical learners…