Search results for "sign language"

Many languages, many modalities : Finnish Sign Language signers as learners of English

2015

For a multilingual person, language learning is a process which requires and makes use of many varied characteristics that have developed in multilingual environments. This study deals with the learner beliefs of Finnish Sign Language (FinSL) signers who study at the university. The data for this study consist of student interviews and essays collected in connection with an English course at the Language Centre. In this article, we focus on discussing how the linguistic background and learner beliefs of FinSL signers form a basis for exploring features that affect their learning of English. Based on the socio-cultural framework, the learner beliefs these students have formed have been exami…

Language-Game: Calculus or Pragmatic Act?

2013

We have tried to make the potentiality inherent in the concept of the linguistic game evident by taking it back to its original context in the work of Wittgenstein. This paper aims to re-examine some features of Wittgenstein’s thought, considering in particular the notion of ‘language-game’. We believe that the language-game might play a role in overcoming once and for all the classic distinction between semantics and pragmatics. We deal with the exegetical discussion of the notion ‘language-game’ as it was interpreted in two different senses: as a synonym of calculus or as a minimal unit of linguistic activity that is directed to obtaining certain pragmatic effects in a societal context. T…

Some observations on the use of HamNoSys (Hamburg Notation System for Sign Languages) in the context of the phonetic transcription of children’s sign…

2005

This paper discusses the use of the HamNoSys notation (Hamburg Notation System for Sign Languages) for the transcription of children’s signing. The notation system will be briefly described and some former descriptions of the acquisition of sign language phonology presented. The project in which HamNoSys was used is then described briefly followed by a description of the problems encountered while using the notation. Furthermore some proposals as to how to further develop the notation will be made. In conclusion the instrument can be said to be useful and, especially if revised, will be invaluable in further research.

Do Sign Language Videos Improve Web Navigation for Deaf Signer Users?

2010

The efficacy of video-based sign language (SL) navigation aids to improve Web search for Deaf Signers was tested by two experiments. Experiment 1 compared 2 navigation aids based on text hyperlinks linked to embedded SL videos, which differed in the spatial contiguity between the text hyperlink and SL video (contiguous vs. distant). Deaf Signers’ performance was similar in Web search using both aids, but a positive correlation between their word categorization abilities and search efficiency appeared in the distant condition. In Experiment 2, the contiguous condition was compared with a text-only hyperlink condition. Deaf Signers became less disorientated (used shorter paths to find the tar…

Dynamics of Changes in Preschool Teacher Preparation Programs (1950-2010)

2015

<p>Each period is characterized by its specific features which are the base for forming learning values, educational process principles for higher education, educational aims for future teachers. The development of pedagogy subject as an academic discipline is a prime example of political and social developments of society impact.<br />The preparation of professional pre-school teacher and the implementation of the curriculum are topical problems in previous and current Latvian socio-economic and educational context. Changes in preschool teacher preparation program design and implementation are given an opportunity to compare, try and select the most valuable to fit the today’s …

Are We Really Teaching English for Specific Purposes, or Basic English Skills? The Cases of Turkey and Latvia

2018

English for specific purposes (ESP) has evolved as an important sub-field of English language education to meet the career-related needs of non-native speakers of English in a wide variety of contexts. As such, ESP instruction in specialized subject areas ranging from vocational (e.g., tourism and hospitality) to professional (e.g., international law or banking) to academic (e.g., thesis and dissertation writing) is often integrated in the training and degree programs offered at higher education institutions. However, the ability of these institutions to provide adequate ESP instruction has often been called into question, with critics indicating that insufficient resources and planning, la…

A chi giovano le lingue segnate?

2020

<div> <p>If much attention has been gained in recent times by sign languages (in particular in the comparison on their nature and on their main peculiar properties also towards a recognition as proper languages, as well as on the challenges they pose to some traditional notions which have been employed so far to describe linguistic phenomena), their possible value from the perspective of inclusiveness deserves at least a brief reflection: the debate on this topic could be moved, from a theoretical point of view, within the search for vehicular languages that conformed humanity’s whole cultural life (in different ways and times), to discuss the possibility that a sign language co…

Lengua de señas argentina (LSA) y español en la alfabetización de alumnos sordos. Aportes para la práctica educativa

2015

En el desarrollo de un modelo educativo Intercultural y bi(pluri)lingüe (lengua de señas argentina 'LSA- y español como lengua segunda) y otras lenguas extranjeras, lenguas muy disímiles constituyen la realidad lingüística del escenario educativo. El objetivo de este artículo es plantear algunas reflexiones acerca de la relación entre ellas en el proceso de alfabetización de alumnos sordos. In the development of an intercultural and bilingual educational model (LSA-spanish as a second language) and other foreign languages, different languages constitute the linguistic reality of the educational context. The aim of this paper is to present some reflections about the relationship between them…

Signs and transitions: Do they differ phonetically and does it matter?

2013

The point of departure of this article is the cluster of three pre-theoretical presuppositions (P) governing modern research on sign languages: (1) that a stream of signing consists of signs (S) and transitions (T), (2) that only Ss are linguistically relevant units, and (3) that there is a qualitative (e.g., phonetic) difference between Ss and Ts. Of these, the article focuses on the relatively untested P3, which is used to back up P1 and P2, and investigates the velocity and acceleration properties of Ss and Ts on the basis of continuous motion-capture data from Finnish Sign Language. The main finding of the study is that the speed of Ss is slower (and varies less) than that of Ts but tha…

2016

The neural systems supporting speech and sign processing are very similar, although not identical. In a previous fTCD study of hearing native signers (Gutierrez-Sigut, Daws, et al., 2015) we found stronger left lateralization for sign than speech. Given that this increased lateralization could not be explained by hand movement alone, the contribution of motor movement versus ‘linguistic’ processes to the strength of hemispheric lateralization during sign production remains unclear. Here we directly contrast lateralization strength of covert versus overt signing during phonological and semantic fluency tasks. To address the possibility that hearing native signers’ elevated lateralization ind…