ERIC Number: EJ1412976
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 47
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0302-1475
EISSN: EISSN-1533-6263
Iconicity Perception under the Lens of Iconicity Rating and Transparency Tasks in Israeli Sign Language (ISL)
Orit Fuks
Sign Language Studies, v24 n1 p46-92 2023
This study undertook iconicity ratings and conducted transparency experiments on Israeli Sign Language (ISL). Experiment 1 compared the iconicity ratings of 520 lexical signs of ten Deaf ISL signers and thirteen hearing non-signers. Ratings were found to be affected by language knowledge, lexical class, and type of iconic mapping, as well as by factors less connected to iconicity, such as a sense of familiarity with a form. In experiment 2, twenty non-signers guessed the meaning of the 520 signs, and the correct guesses were correlated with the iconicity scores. Overall, non-signers tended to interpret signs as representing actions. The results demonstrated that: (1) signers' ratings reflect the diverse semiotic ways that meanings are represented in the lexicon, predictably more so than non-signers' ratings, and (2) when meanings are not provided, the perception of iconicity is attuned mostly to the movement aspect of the forms. It is recommended that both studies be conducted together in order to achieve a more nuanced picture concerning the perception of iconicity and its role in the lexicon.
Descriptors: Task Analysis, Sign Language, Motion, Foreign Countries, Deafness, Hearing (Physiology), Contrastive Linguistics, Familiarity, Semiotics, Grammar, Knowledge Level, Evaluation Methods
Gallaudet University Press. 800 Florida Avenue NE, Denison House, Washington, DC 20002-3695. Tel: 202-651-5488; Fax: 202-651-5489; Web site: http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/SLS.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A