Grammatical Subjects in home sign: Abstract linguistic structure in adult primary gesture systems without linguistic input.

ABSTRACT: Language ordinarily emerges in young children as a consequence of both linguistic experience (for example, exposure to a spoken or signed language) and innate abilities (for example, the ability to acquire certain types of language patterns). One way to discern which aspects of language acquisition are controlled by experience and which arise from innate factors is to remove or manipulate linguistic input. However, experimental manipulations that involve depriving a child of language input are impossible. The present work examines the communication systems resulting from natural situations of language deprivation and thus explores the inherent tendency of humans to build communication systems of particular kinds, without any conventional linguistic input. We examined the gesture systems th

SUBMITTER: Coppola M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1315276 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature