Reviews a study on deaf native sign language. Indicates that the modification of natural perceptual categories after language acquisition is not bound to a particular transmission modality, but rather can be a more general consequence of acquiring a formal linguistic system. (Author/SK)

Examines a number of ways in which the process of natural acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) from competent adult and child users of the language might directly enhance the learning of English. The natural acquisition of ASL, contact signing, and fingerspelling may enhance English language literacy. (45 references) (MDM)

Comparison of three training conditions for Spanish-vocabulary development with 30 deaf undergraduates found no significant differences for short-term memory. However, long-term-memory scores under the repeated writing condition were significantly higher than scores under the fingerspelling or silent-reading conditions. (Author/DB)

The comprehension of 30 severely and profoundly deaf students (ages 10 to 17) was evaluated under 11 communication conditions involving individual and combined presentations of lipreading, listening, fingerspelling, and signed English. Severely deaf students scored higher than profoundly deaf students under all but one condition, and all students…

This article discusses the incidence of infant hearing impairments, auditory screening tests, and available intervention choices for infants with severe to profound congenital hearing loss, including methods for communication and cochlear implantation. American Sign language, manually coded English, fingerspelling, total communication, and…

Repercussions of "Language and Education of the Deaf" by Herbert R. Kohl are examined as a followup. The original study described the education and achievement of profoundly deaf individuals in America, presented a critique of the literature that had grown around the problems of the deaf, and focused on the relative failure of deaf education.…

This sign language manual, intended to help St. Lucia parents teach language to and communicate with their deaf or hard-of-hearing children, is prefaced by a child's description of living with a deaf sibling. An introduction discusses symptoms of hearing loss, defines speech and language, traces general expectations at school, and touches briefly…

This paper deals with the integrative function of sign language in the British deaf community. Sign language communities exhibit a special case of diglossia in that they exist within a larger, hearing community not necessarily characterized by diglossia itself. British Sign Language includes at least two diglossic varieties, with different…

THE EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENT OF THE TOTALLY DEAF IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN SOCIETY WERE DESCRIBED. DISCUSSED IN DETAIL WERE THE FOLLOWING TOPICS--(1) A DESCRIPTIVE MODEL OF DEAF INDIVIDUALS, (2) EDUCATION OF THE DEAF, (3) SIGN LANGUAGE, AND (4) EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN LANGUAGE AND CONCEPT FORMATION. THESE DISCUSSIONS SUGGESTED THAT THE…

AN INVESTIGATION WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DETERMINE WHETHER EARLY MANUAL COMMUNICATION WITH DEAF CHILDREN INFLUENCES THEIR SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITION OF (1) INTELLIGIBLE SPEECH, (2) READING ABILITY, (3) SPEECH READING ABILITY, (4) WRITTEN LANGUAGE, AND (5) PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT. THE DESIGN INVOLVED MATCHED PAIRS OF SUBJECTS BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF…

One of three projects included examined the effects of combined speech and fingerspelling on the development of language and communication using a survey of over 200 subjects from six residential schools. The results showed that fingerspelling in combination with speech leads to improved achievement, shows no detrimental effects on the acquisition…

When evaluating the work of congenitally deaf students whose native language is spatial and semiotic, composition teachers must avoid being what Marjorie Siegel calls "verbocentric," since congenitally deaf students are, in effect, learning to write in a language completely foreign to them in structure, syntax, and grammar. The…

Deaf children come from all races, classes, and backgrounds, but as a group they have a hard time learning to read and write. The more hearing a child has, the better the child performs on tests of reading ability. Parents who can communicate well with their deaf children help them to perform well at school, but beyond "good"…

This book is written primarily for those studying linguistic topics in the area of sign language, but also can be useful to sign language teachers who want to understand more about American Sign Language (ASL). Pen-and-ink illustrations allow the reader with no knowledge of sign language to follow the discussion. The hypothesis examined in this…

Evidence from a nine-month longitudinal study of deaf children's early attempts at learning to read provides the construct for an instructional model that stresses that even though the children may have, at the least, a meager expressive sign language vocabulary, they can be lead successfully through the holophrastic or one-word stage of reading…