This study proposes an adaptation of Hunt's (1965) Terminal Miminal Syntactic Unit (T-Unit) to measure syntactic complexity in American Sign Language (ASL) syntax. Criterion for determining an American Sign Language T-Unit is based upon research into the linguistic structure and development of ASL. Nine deaf elementary aged students watched a non-verbal film and retold the story in ASL on videotape (Newport et al., in press). The stories were then transcribed into the Vista Glossing System (Smith, Lentz & Mikos, 1988). Transcriptions were segmented into T-Units and further analyzed for syntactic complexity. Results reveal an increase in ASL T-Units for all children from the fall to the spring. An increase in ASL T-Units translates to greater syntactic complexity. Results from the study suggest that an ASL T-unit analysis is an effective measure of ASL proficiency.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/291921 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Fraychineaud, Kathy Ann, 1956- |
| Contributors | Antia, Shirin, Volk, Cindy |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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