What You See Is What you Feel: Sign Language Phonology in a ProTactile World
Clark, J.L., Nuccio, J.B. (2020). Protactile Linguistics: Discussing recent research findings. Journal of American Sign Languages and Literatures.
The research of this project documents and analyzes, for the first time, a large, socially organized and politically engaged network of DeafBlind language-users communicating via “protactile” American Sign Language (PT-ASL). The investigators are analyzing the differences in phonological representation in the productions across PT DeafBlind signers, non-PT DeafBlind signers and non-PT Deaf signers, in order to distinguish PT-ASL from on-the-fly compensation for sensory loss (i.e., being deaf-blind). Phonological distinctions are being modified from a largely visual to a more proprioceptive modality; therefore the emergence and development of PT-ASL offers a unique opportunity to understand how human language can be adapted to radically different conditions of transmission and interaction. Supported by NSF grant to Terra Edwards & Diane Brentari (Co-PIs) BCS-1651100.
Sign Language Typology & Emergence
Typology analysis has been an important in predicting variation among spoken languages, and in this project the typology of handshape is investigated in signed languages. Handshape distinctions involving two types of iconicity: hand-as-object (object handshapes) and hand-as-hand (handling handshapes) are being analyzed in 5 sign languages to determine how they are distributed throughout the grammar—in nouns, verbs, and productive morphology. This will also shed light on the “nature” vs. “nurture” question by analyzing how these patterns emerge in homesigners and young sign language varieties.
Prosody
Gestural behaviors of the body and hands are used for prosodic purposes in both signed and spoken languages. In conducting this research we ask: Are there universal properties of gestural prosody used by both signed and spoken languages?; How are gestures used differently in the prosodic structure of spoken vs. signed languages?; What types of “language contact” phenomena in signed and spoken language communities of a single country can be found in gestural prosody? This work, as it pertains to the prosody of fingerspelling in ASL is supported by NSF IIS-1409886.
Current grants
2020-2021 – National Science Foundation (Principle Investigator: Terra Edwards; Co-PIs: Diane Brentari, Deanna Gagne, Jenn Gorlewicz: RAPID: Navigating Social Distancing with DeafBlind Children:Protactile Language Acquisition in an Online Learning Environment (BCS-2038042). $200,000
2019-2024 – National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator: Diane Brentari; Co-PIs: Marie Coppola; Susan Goldin-Meadow). Two-verb predicates in sign languages: Typological variation and emergence (BCS-1918545).
2018-2021 – Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. Haun Saussy, Anastasia Giannakidou, Diane Brentari (Co-Principal Investigators) Motion and meaning: Sign and body gesture in dance narratives across cultures.
2017-2022 – National Science Foundation. Terra Edwards & Diane Brentari (Co-Principal Investigators). What you see is what you feel: Sign Language phonology in a ProTactile world. (BCS-1651100).
2020-2022 – National Science Foundation (Principle Investigator: Diane Brentari; Co-PI Kathryn Montemurro. Doctoral Dissertation Research: Sign language spatial modulation across sociohiohistorical contexts (BCS–2020713).
Previous Grants
2013-2016 – National Science Foundation. Diane Brentari & J. Keane, (Co-PIs). Coarticulation and the phonetics of fingerspelling. (BCS-1251807). (Dissertation Improvement grant)
2006-2012 – National Science Foundation Research Grant. D. Brentari, Principal Investigator. “Grammatical Regularities in Sign Language and Homesign. (BCS 0547554)
2001-2005 – National Science Foundation Research Grant. D. Brentari, Principal Investigator. “A Cross-linguistic Study of Sign Language Classifiers. (BCS 0112391)