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American Sign Language | 1 |
Communication (Thought… | 1 |
Deafness | 1 |
Diachronic Linguistics | 1 |
Grammar | 1 |
Manual Communication | 1 |
Morphology (Languages) | 1 |
Research | 1 |
Semiotics | 1 |
Symbolic Language | 1 |
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Language | 1 |
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Frishberg, Nancy | 1 |
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Frishberg, Nancy – Language, 1975
This paper examines historical processes in American Sign Language (ASL) and shows that there is a tendency for signs to change in the direction of arbitrariness, rather than maintaining a level of iconicity. Changes at the formational level are seen as contributing to language-internal consistency, at the expense of transparency. (Author/CLK)
Descriptors: American Sign Language, Communication (Thought Transfer), Deafness, Diachronic Linguistics