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Modality-Independent Effects of Phonological Neighborhood Structure on Initial L2 Sign Language Learning

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Williams J., Newman S. D.

Research in Language

2015

vol. 13

issue 2

198-212

The goal of the present study was to characterize how neighborhood structure in sign language influences lexical sign acquisition in order to extend our understanding of how the lexicon influences lexical acquisition in both sign and spoken languages. A referentmatching lexical sign learning paradigm was administered to a group of 29 hearing sign language learners in order to create a sign lexicon. The lexicon was constructed based on exposures to signs that resided in either sparse or dense handshape and location neighborhoods. The results of the current study indicated that during the creation of the lexicon signs that resided in sparse neighborhoods were learned better than signs that resided in dense neighborhoods. This pattern of results is similar to what is seen in child first language acquisition of spoken language. Therefore, despite differences in child first language and adult second language acquisition, these results contribute to a growing body of literature that implicates the phonological features that structure of the lexicon is influential in initial stages of lexical acquisition for both spoken and sign languages. This is the first study that uses an innovated lexicon-construction methodology to explore interactions between phonology and the lexicon in L2 acquisition of sign language.

Second Language Working Memory Deficits and Plasticity in Hearing Bimodal Learners of Sign Language

81%

Williams J., Darcy I., Newman S.

Psychology of Language and Communication

2015

vol. 19

issue 2

128-148

Little is known about the acquisition of another language modality on second language (L2) working memory (WM) capacity. Differential indexing within the WM system based on language modality may explain differences in performance on WM tasks in sign and spoken language. We investigated the effect of language modality (sign versus spoken) on L2 WM capacity. Results indicated reduced L2 WM span relative to first language span for both L2 learners of Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL). Importantly, ASL learners had lower L2 WM spans than Spanish learners. Additionally, ASL learners increased their L2 WM spans as a function of proficiency, whereas Spanish learners did not. This pattern of results demonstrated that acquiring another language modality disadvantages ASL learners. We posited that this disadvantage arises out of an inability to correctly and efficiently allocate linguistic information to the visuospatial sketchpad due to L1-related indexing bias.

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1 Psychology of Language and Communication

1 Research in Language

2 Williams J.

1 Darcy I.

1 Newman S.

1 Newman S. D.

2 2015

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Modality-Independent Effects of Phonological Neighborhood Structure on Initial L2 Sign Language Learning

Second Language Working Memory Deficits and Plasticity in Hearing Bimodal Learners of Sign Language