Abstract
Evidence from sign language strongly supports three positions: (1) language is a coherent system with universal properties; (2) sign languages diverge from spoken languages in some aspects of their structure; and (3) domain-external factors can be identified that account for some crucial aspects of language structure - uniform and diverse - in both modalities. Assuming that any of these positions excludes the others defeats the purpose of the enterprise.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2727-2732 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Lingua |
| Volume | 120 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:My thanks to Mark Aronoff, Irit Meir and Carol Padden for helpful comments. Research on Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language is supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health-NIDCD (R01 DC 6473).
Keywords
- Diversity
- New languages
- Sign language
- Universals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language