The focus of this study was the inducement of imagery in order to retain sign language vocabulary items. Thirty-eight beginning sign language students were selected as subjects. Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group received instructions in the use of imagery mnemonics in order to better retain sign language vocabulary. Subjects in the control group were left to learn the vocabulary items by methods of their own choosing. Results of the statistical analyses indicated no significant difference between groups on posttest measures. However, there was a tendency toward an interaction between subjects' grade point averages and the treatments. The inducement of imagery in the treatment group was somewhat of an "equalizer" between subjects with high and low grade point averages. Additional analyses indicated that the inducement of imagery mnemonics in the treatment group was more successful for the poorer students and hindered the better students.

Research regarding language and communication modality in deaf or hard of hearing children and their parents is limited. Previous research often considered modality as any visual, gestural, or tactile communication, rather than distinct languages of different modalities. This study examined language and communication modality in hearing parents who have made a commitment to learning American Sign Language (ASL) and who use both ASL and spoken English to communicate with their deaf or hard of hearing children. Nine hearing parents and their deaf/hard of hearing children participated in naturalistic play sessions. The play sessions were recorded and transcribed for ASL, spoken English, and communicative interactions. Analysis of results indicated a positive correlation between the amount of ASL (tokens and duration of time) used by parents and their children. No relationship was indicated between the amount of spoken English (tokens and duration of time) by parents and their children, nor the amount (frequency and percent) of bimodal utterances used by parent and their children. Furthermore, there was no relationship found between families using the same versus different dominant language modality and their sustained interactions (frequency, duration, and number of turns). Findings indicated a relationship between parent and child language in a visually accessible language, ASL, but not in spoken language. Data regarding bimodal utterances suggested that parents and children successfully kept both ASL and spoken English separate during play. Finally, analysis of communicative interactions demonstrated similarities between parent-child dyads that had the same dominant communication modality and those with different dominant modalities, suggesting the possibility of successful communication despite language modality differences. Overall, findings from this study illustrated that hearing parents can successfully learn and use languages of different modalities with their deaf/hard of hearing children.

This study explores the role and place of Lesotho Sign Language (LSL) in the education of deaf learners. It seeks to determine how the present language-in-education policy and language practices at home and in the schools for the deaf impact on education of deaf learners. For this purpose, the research focuses on the schools for the deaf as the sites where policy is to be implemented. The study also investigates the attitude of policy makers towards the inclusion of LSL in the current national language-in-education policy. A qualitative approach to research was adopted for this study. Data was collected mainly through interviews with policy makers, deaf children, teachers and parents of deaf learners. To complement this data, observations were conducted in schools where deaf children in Lesotho are taught. The study is a language policy study and as such, language planning and bilingual education theories are interrogated. Rationale choice theory is applied to explain which factors policy makers in Lesotho consider in language planning. This is an attempt to understand reasons that may enable or hinder the inclusion of LSL in the national language-in-education policy. Additionally, based on Cummins’ theoretical framework for minority student intervention and empowerment, the study suggests the adoption of bilingual model for the schools of the deaf to teaching deaf learners. Bilingual education does not only encourage instruction through LSL, it also provides an opportunity for deaf learners to decide on the language that best meets their learning needs. The analysis of data revealed that education of deaf learners in Lesotho is not satisfactory. This is due to three main reasons. First, Lesotho Sign Language is not sufficiently used in the schools for the deaf. The situation brings about discrepancy between the mother tongue policy and its implementation. Secondly, teachers are neither adequately proficient in LSL nor are they conversant with Deaf culture. Coupled with all these, teachers lack skills suitable to teach deaf children. Thirdly, parents are not actively involved in the education of their children. All these impact negatively on the education of deaf learners in Lesotho. Finally, although policy makers showed a positive attitude towards the inclusion of LSL in the current national language-in-education, they expressed a lot of skepticism on whether the government would be wiling to financially ready for the implementation of such policy. Based on these findings, this research is an important contribution to describing the situation of Deaf education in Lesotho and the inherent difficulties that Deaf learners experience due to the current language practices in the schools for the Deaf. The study is also of great value since in Lesotho, most people are not aware of deafness as a phenomenon or of the existence of Sign Language. Literature on Lesotho language policy and minority languages focuses on spoken languages. The ostensible avoidance of LSL in both academic and policy circles is therefore the main focus of this study.

Fung, Hiu Man Cat. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 250-264). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

Late twentieth-century discourses regarding deaf people and sign language provide the theoretical background for investigating early modern families with hereditary deafness within the Kentish Weald. The first of its kind, this thesis described the methods used to ascertain the presence of sufficient numbers of networked deaf people to maintain natural sign language. A source-driven work, it began with two data sources - a list generated by previous American genealogical research of the first known European-American deaf families originating from seventeenth-century Kent and the 1851 Census of Great Britain, a previously unexplored resource of the first attempt to fully enumerate deaf people in Britain. This thesis was based on an analysis of primary documentation and a critical reading of previous primary and secondary sources seeking to connect the two initial sources. Its framework was predicated on a stance that acknowledges and values deaf culture and its embodied performed manifestation, sign language. Examining the discourses surrounding deaf people throughout the period, it relied upon the concepts of representation, individual identity, and group identity to query the existence of a deaf group identity predating the labels used to describe it.

He, Jia. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [150-154] ). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.iii / 摘要 --- p.iv / Chapter CHAPTER ONE --- INTRODUCTION --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2 --- Classifiers in natural languages --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Classifier systems in spoken languages --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Classifiers in signed languages --- p.10 / Chapter 1.3 --- Instruments in spoken languages --- p.13 / Chapter 1.4 --- Objectives of the study --- p.18 / Chapter 1.5 --- Research questions --- p.19 / Chapter 1.6 --- Organization of the thesis --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO --- CLASSIFIERS IN SIGNED LANGUAGES --- p.22 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2 --- Classifier predicates in signed languages --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Classification of classifier handshape unit in classifier predicates --- p.22 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Classification of movement unit in classifier predicates --- p.25 / Chapter 2.3 --- Previous formal analyses on classifier predicates in signed languages --- p.28 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Meir's (2001) noun incorporation analysis in Israel Sign Language --- p.28 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Zwitserlood's (2003) analysis of verbs of motion and location in NGT --- p.29 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Benedicto and Brentari's (2004) syntactic analysis of classifier predicates in ASL --- p.31 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Some previous attempts to analyze classifier predicates in HKSL --- p.33 / Chapter 2.4 --- Interim discussion and conclusion --- p.36 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.37 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2 --- Background of Tianjin Sign Language --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3 --- Data collection --- p.38 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Consultants --- p.38 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Elicitation materials --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- "Movies: ""Tweety and Sylvester""" --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Picture stories --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.2.3 --- Simple picture descriptions --- p.41 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Elicitation tasks and procedures --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Transcription method --- p.47 / Chapter 3.4 --- Interim discussion and conclusion --- p.47 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR --- RESULTS AND DATA DESCRIPTION --- p.48 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.48 / Chapter 4.2 --- Inventory of handshapes for instrument classifier predicates --- p.48 / Chapter 4.3 --- Classifier handshape and predicate types --- p.66 / Chapter 4.4 --- Interim discussion and conclusion --- p.68 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE --- THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS --- p.69 / Chapter 5.1 --- Distributed Morphology --- p.69 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- An overview of Distributed Morphology --- p.69 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- The concept of morpheme in DM --- p.73 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Cyclic domain in DM --- p.73 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Why reject Lexicalism? --- p.74 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Interim discussion and conclusion --- p.77 / Chapter 5.2 --- Capturing 3-place predicates in syntax --- p.79 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Larson's VP-shell analysis (1988) --- p.79 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- "Pylkannen's analysis (2002, 2008)" --- p.83 / Chapter 5.2.2.1 --- Introduction of non-core arguments --- p.83 / Chapter 5.2.2.2 --- Applicatives in natural languages --- p.84 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Interim Discussion and conclusion --- p.87 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX --- FORMAL ANALYSIS OF INSTRUMENT CLASSIFIER PREDICATES IN TJSL --- p.89 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.89 / Chapter 6.2 --- Morphosyntactic properties of instrument classifier predicates in TJSL --- p.89 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Two types of three-place classifier predicates in TJSL --- p.89 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Handling classifier handshape and agentivity --- p.93 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Signer's body encodes agentivity --- p.96 / Chapter 6.2.3.1 --- Grammatical function of the signer's body --- p.97 / Chapter 6.2.3.2 --- Test for argument status of signer's body --- p.100 / Chapter 6.2.4 --- Classifier handshape and noun class system --- p.107 / Chapter 6.2.4.1 --- Classifier handshape and gender system --- p.109 / Chapter 6.2.4.2 --- Instrument classifier handshapes: unifying gender system and noun classes --- p.110 / Chapter 6.2.4.2.1 --- Variation in the choice of classifier handshape in instrument classifier predicates in TJSL --- p.110 / Chapter 6.2.4.2.2 --- Classifier handshape and ^-feature specification --- p.113 / Chapter 6.2.4.2.3 --- Locationalization of classifier handshapes in space --- p.118 / Chapter 6.3 --- Structural representation of instrument classifier predicates --- p.120 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Voice0 and volitional external argument in instrument classifier predicates --- p.120 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Instrument as high applicative --- p.121 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- How instrument classifier predicates are derived in TJSL? --- p.125 / Chapter 6.4 --- Interim discussion and conclusion --- p.138 / Chapter CHAPTER SEVEN --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.139 / Chapter 7.1 --- Summery --- p.139 / Chapter 7.2 --- Theoretical implications --- p.140 / List of tables / Appendix I / Appendix II / References

The need to see traffic signs at night has led to the development of increasingly brighter retroreflective sign sheeting. The impact of this increased brightness has been shown to increase the legibility distance of the sign, but at what cost? With brighter signs being visible from farther away, there is an increased opportunity for the driver to look at the sign. This thesis assesses the impact of sign brightness on the nighttime driver’s sign viewing behavior; such as the number of glances and the total glance duration directed at the sign. Eye-tracking technology has been used to follow the nighttime driver’s eye movements through tasks based on sign usage. The six signs used for the analysis are classified in three relative brightness categories of bright, medium, and dim on a closed course and on a public road. Data relating to the beginning and end of each glance were recorded as well as the distance at which the sign became legible to the driver. Comparisons were made between the three brightness levels for the number of glances, total glance duration, and legibility distance of the sign. Further analysis was conducted to determine the effect of the testing environment on a driver’s sign viewing behavior by comparing the results from the closed course with those from the open road. The data for this thesis show varying results between the two courses with more defined differences based on luminance for the open road. The results of this thesis indicate that drivers do not consistently change the number of times they look at a sign or the amount of time dedicated to a sign based on its brightness. During real world driving scenarios, the brightest sign resulted in the longest legibility distance and the lowest total glance duration, indicating an increased efficiency reading the sign by the driver. Typically, a sign with a longer total glance duration had a shorter legibility distance. Comparisons between the closed and open courses revealed that open road driving resulted in a longer total glance duration and a shorter legibility distance.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-243).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Mexican Sign Language, or El Lenguaje de Sefias Mexicanas (LSM), and the Deaf community of Mexico have not been extensively studied. This dissertation offers lexical analyses of LSM. Drawing from video data, I examine an elicited lexicon of LSM as articulated by six Deaf consultants from two cities: Aguascalientes and Mexico City. This dissertation focuses on signs that are articulated similarly among the consultants. Two or more sign forms are considered to be similarly-articulated when those forms share the same approximate meaning and when they share the same values on at least two of the three main parameters of handshape, movement, and place of articulation. By focusing on this set of signs, I investigate and document patterns in sign variation internal to LSM. Place of articulation is found to be relatively stable compared to the variation seen in the parameters of handshape and movement. Additionally, other patterns among the articulatory variants are found such as sets of handshapes, movements, and places that tend to vary among similarly-articulated signs. A second goal of the dissertation is to investigate whether the findings from the internal investigation of LSM are valid across other sign languages. Eduardo Huet, a deaf Frenchman, established the first school for the deaf in 1867 in Mexico City. Due to the educational influence from Huet, French Sign Language (LSF) is likely to have influenced the development of LSM. Thus, this dissertation includes a pair-wise comparison between LSM and LSF. A second pair-wise comparison included involves LSM and Spanish Sign Language (LSE) because of the shared ambient language and related ambient cultures; this comparison addresses the assumption that LSM and LSE would be similar because of linguistic and cultural similarities between Mexico and Spain. A third pair-wise comparison involves LSM and Japanese Sign Language (JSL) as a control comparison. LSM and JSL are known to have distinct historical developments and do not share an ambient language or culture. For each of the three pair-wise comparisons, I focus on the set of similarly-articulated signs. In addition to investigating articulatory patterns, I also investigate potential sources for similarly-articulated signs, i.e., whether these similarities are likely borrowings or shared icons. Not surprising, I found that the pair-wise comparison of LSM-LSF exhibited the most likely borrowings and LSM-JSL the least. Additionally, the analyses of the three pair-wise comparisons suggest a base level of similarly-articulated signs that are likely due to shared icons. The findings from the pair-wise analysis further suggest that patterns documented in the internal analysis of LSM also hold for the cross-linguistic analyses. The parameter variations among the set of similarly-articulated signs suggest a potential trend that might be valid internally and cross-linguistically for sign languages in general. / text