Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Emergence of Linguistic Structure in a Family Homesign Language

博士论文研究：家庭手语语言结构的出现

• 批准号: 2141436
• 负责人: Richard Meier
• 金额: $ 1.57万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-01 至 2024-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2141436&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Emergence; Linguistic

What would a language created completely from scratch look like? This question cannot be answered by studying spoken languages, whose origins extend back into prehistory. However, sign languages continue to be created in the present day wherever a critical mass of deaf individuals forms. Thus, newly emerging sign languages provide researchers the opportunity to observe the process of language creation directly. This research project focuses on one such sign language, created by three deaf siblings and four of their hearing family members. This homesign language began as an idiosyncratic gesture system developed by the first deaf individual born into the family and was later elaborated into a shared sign system by later-born deaf and hearing family members. This research project sets out to document the grammatical structure of the language, focusing on the ways in the which the sign system of the first-born deaf individual differs from those of the later-born signers. This approach has the potential to shed light on how grammatical structure emerges and develops at the earliest stages of language creation.This research project focuses on two grammatical structures that have been documented in nearly all sign languages studied to date: (i) classifier constructions and (ii) directional verbs. Classifier constructions represent the motion and location of objects in space and involve a meaningful handshape unit that identifies the category of the object. The inventory of classifier handshapes is unique to each signed language. This project uses existing sign language assessment tools to determine whether the signers have developed conventions for the use of classifier handshapes. Like classifier constructions, directional verbs also make use of space. However, rather than marking locative relations, directional verbs use space to represent the grammatical relations of subject and object—who does what to whom. In other emerging sign languages, directional verbs have been shown to develop gradually as the language is passed down from generation to generation. This research project asks whether the transmission of the language among members of the family has supported the emergence of directional verbs. Classifier constructions and directional verbs have been argued to represent the interface of grammatical structure with non-linguistic gesture. To determine the contribution of gesture to the emergent structure of the language, this research project also examines the gestures produced by hearing, non-signing individuals from the larger community. Altogether, this project aims to tease apart the contributions of a variety of factors to the process of language emergence, including: an individual's capacity to create language, transmission of a sign system from individual to individual, and the role of the gestural practices of the ambient speech community. This research contributes to our understanding of the human language capacity and raises awareness about sign languages.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

完全从头开始创建的语言会是什么样？这个问题无法通过研究口语来回答，口语的起源又回到了先前。但是，在当今的聋哑人形式的批判质量中，仍在创建标志语言。这是新兴的标志语言为研究人员提供了直接观察语言创建过程的机会。该研究项目侧重于一种这样的手语，由三个聋哑兄弟姐妹及其四个听力家庭成员创建。这种homesign的语言始于一个特殊的手势系统，该系统由出生于家庭的第一个聋哑人开发，后来由后来出生的聋人和听力的家庭成员详细阐述了共享的标志系统。该研究项目旨在记录语言的语法结构，重点介绍了与后来出生的签名者的互联网符号系统的符号系统的方式。这种方法有可能阐明语法结构如何在语言创建的最早阶段出现和发展。本研究项目重点介绍了两种语法结构，这些语法结构已在迄今已研究的几乎所有符号语言中都记录下来：（i）分类器构造和（ii）定向动词。分类器构造代表对象在空间中的运动和位置，并涉及一个有意义的握把单元，该单元标识对象的类别。分类器手印的清单是每种签名语言所独有的。该项目使用现有的手语评估工具来确定签名者是否已经开发了使用分类器手印的约定。像分类器构造一样，定向动词也利用空间。但是，定向动词并没有标记本地关系，而是使用空间来代表主题和对象的语法关系，而不是对谁做。其他新兴的符号语言，随着语言的一代传播，已表明有指示动词会逐渐发展。该研究项目询问该语言在家庭成员之间是否支持定向动词的出现。分类器构造和定向动词被认为代表了语法结构的界面，并具有非语言性手势。为了确定手势对语言新兴结构的贡献，该研究项目还检查了通过听力，不符合较大社区的个人所产生的手势。总而言之，该项目旨在教授各种因素对语言出现过程的贡献，包括：个人创建语言的能力，符号系统从个人到个人的传播以及环境语音社区的手势实践的作用。这项研究有助于我们对人类语言能力的理解，并提高了对符号语言的认识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响标准来诚实地通过评估来诚实地支持。

项目成果

Abrupt grammatical reorganization of an emergent sign language: The expression of motion in Zinacantec Family Homesign

新兴手语的突然语法重组：Zinacantec Family Homesign 中的运动表达

• DOI: 10.1075/dia.22039.ger
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Diachronica
• 影响因子: 0.7
• 作者: German, Austin