Even though more than half the world's population is bilingual, the study of bilinguals has lagged behind that of monolinguals. With this book, which draws on twenty-five years of the author's research, Francois Grosjean contributes significantly to redressing the balance. The volume covers four areas of research: the definition and characterization of the bilingual person, the perception and production of spoken language by bilinguals, the sign-oral bilingualism of the Deaf, and methodological and conceptual issues in research on bilingualism. While the author takes a largely psycholinguistic approach, his acute linguistic and sociolinguistic awareness is evident throughout and especially so in his reflections on what it means to be bilingual and bicultural. The book also defends increased co-operation among researchers in connecting fields such as the language sciences and the neurosciences.

This new collection examines several facets of signed language interpreting. Claudia Angelelli's study confirms that conference, courtroom, and medical interpretation can no longer be seen as a two-party conversation with an "invisible" interpreter, but as a three-party conversation in which the interpreter plays an active role. Laura M. Sanheim defines different turn-taking elements in a medical setting as two overlapping conversations, one between the patient and the interpreter and the other between the interpreter and the medical professional. In her analysis of discourse at a Deaf revival service, Mary Ann Richey demonstrates how Deaf presenters and audiences interact even in formal settings, creating special challenges for interpreters. Jemina Napier shares her findings on the nature and occurrence of omissions by interpreters in Australian Sign Language and English exchanges. Elizabeth Winston and Christine Monikowski describe different strategies used by interpreters to indicate topic shifts when interpreting into American Sign Language and when transliterating. The study concludes with Bruce Sofinski's analysis of nonmanual elements used by interpreters in sign language transliteration.

Teaching sign language can enhance education for all children. Sign with Me the ABCs gives early childhood professionals and families simple directions on how to use signs and benefits of using modified American Sign Language (ASL) with preschoolers. Teaching young children modified ASL can help develop emerging literacy skills, enhance story times, support young children learning English as a second language, and ease frustrations for nonverbal communicators. The front of each card includes a colorful illustration and a short description of how to make the sign. The back of each card explains when to use the sign and how doing so will help children develop literacy skills.

Start ASL, the leading online resource for ASL and Deaf Culture, has created this easy-to-use and convenient Terminology Pocket Guide. If you're on the go, or whenever you simply need to make a quick reference, you'll find this tiny yet practical book to be a great friend in your immersion into American Sign Language and the Deaf community. This handy little Pocket Guide contains definitions to those not-so-familiar terms that you may encounter at any time, anywhere. This is not an ASL dictionary, but a convenient Deaf community terminology guide. You will learn the definitions of words/acronyms such as: Audism, CODA, DPN, and more For anyone wanting to truly understand and communicate within the ASL community, we highly recommend having Start ASL's Terminology Pocket Guide on hand for all situations... Never leave home without it

With Brief Explanatory Notes Of The Gestures Taught Deaf-Mutes In Our Institutions For Their Instruction And A Description Of Some Of The Peculiar Laws, Customs, Myths, Superstitions, Ways Of Living, Code Of Peace And War Signals Of Our Aborigines.

This text explores American culture from the mid-19th century to 1920 through the lens of one episode: the campaign led by Alexander Graham Bell and other prominent Americans to suppress the use of sign language amongst deaf people. The debate about sign language invoked such fundamental questions as what distinguished Americans from non-Americans, civilized people from "savages", humans from animals, men from women, the natural from the unnatural, and the normal from the abnormal. An advocate of the return to sign language, the author found that, although the grounds of the debate have shifted, educators still base decisions on many of the same metaphors and images that led to the misguided efforts to eradicate sign language.

The bestselling Parents' Choice Award Winner-now expanded with a new section on computer and technology terms. Fully illustrated in a large format with clear, easy-to-read instructions, "Signing for Kids" features the clearest instructions and easiest-to-follow illustrations of any signing book available. And, "Signing for Kids" is as relevant to today's young readers as it is easy-to-use, with a new 16-page section of computer and technology terms. With helpful hints and tips for better signing and an extensive index for easy reference, "Signing for Kids" is the best book for beginners or for those who want to brush up their sign language skills. Includes topics such as: - Pets & Animals - Snacks & Food - Family, Friends & People - Numbers, Money & Quantity - Sports, Hobbies & Recreation - Time, Days, Seasons & Weather - Travel & Holidays - Clothes, Colors & Home - Computers and Technology

From its beginnings in the 1960s, sociolinguistics developed several different subfields with distinct methods and interests: the variationist tradition established by Labov, the anthropological tradition of Hymes, interactional sociolinguistics as developed by Gumperz, and the sociology of language represented by the work of Fishman. All of these areas have seen a great deal of growth in recent decades, and recent studies have led to a more broadly inclusive view of sociolinguistics. Hence there is a need for a handbook that will survey the main areas of the field, point out the lacunae in our existing knowledge base, and provide directions for future research. The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics will differ from existing work in four major respects. First, it will emphasize new methodological developments, particularly the convergence of linguistic anthropology and variationist sociolinguistics. Second, it will include chapters on sociolinguistic developments in areas of the world that have been relatively neglected in the major journals. Third, its chapters are written by contributors who have worked in a range of languages and whose work addresses sociolinguistic issues in bi- and multilingual contexts, i.e. the contexts in which a majority of the world's population lives. Finally, it will include substantial material on the rapidly growing study of sign language sociolinguistics.

Developed in conjunction with the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, this comprehensive new dictionary of American Sign Language (ASL) has over 8700 signs, many unique to Canada. Material for this extensive work has been drawn from many sources and includes input gathered from members of Canada's Deaf community over the past twenty years. The Canadian Dictionary of ASL offers clear illustrations and sign descriptions alongside English definitions, making it a valuable reference for Deaf and hearing users alike. Authoritative and up-to-date, The Canadian Dictionary of ASL will prove to be the standard reference for years to come.

What is the role of meaning in linguistic theory? Generative linguists have severely limited the influence of meaning, claiming that language is not affected by other cognitive processes and that semantics does not influence linguistic form. Conversely, cognitivist and functionalist linguists believe that meaning pervades and motivates all levels of linguistic structure. This dispute can be resolved conclusively by evidence from signed languages. Signed languages are full of iconic linguistic items: words, inflections, and even syntactic constructions with structural similarities between their physical form and their referents' form. Iconic items can have concrete meanings and also abstract meanings through conceptual metaphors. Language from the Body rebuts the generativist linguistic theories which separate form and meaning and asserts that iconicity can only be described in a cognitivist framework where meaning can influence form.

The "Random House Webster's Compact American Sign Language Dictionary" is a treasury of over 4,500 signs for the novice and experienced user alike. It includes complete descriptions of each sign, plus full-torso illustrations. There is also a subject index for easy reference as well as alternate signs for the same meaning.

"This is a startlingly original collection, challenging readers to think well beyond normative contours of the literary text toward a living art of the embodied sign. A significant contribution to literary, performance, and Deaf culture studies, "Signing the Body Poetic" will make us all see differently."--Della Pollock, editor of "Remembering: Oral History Performance"
""Signing the Body Poetic" is both a book and an event--a long-anticipated work that questions and recasts some of our most embedded definitions of poetry and other language arts. The work of several generations of signing poets has made a place for gesture that eliminates once and for all the hegemony of the spoken word as the single determinant of poetry and language performance. That is the accomplishment analyzed and celebrated in these pages and in the accompanying DVD that clearly shows the work at hand."--Jerome Rothenberg, coeditor of "Poems for the Millennium: The University of California Book of Modern and Postmodern Poetry"
""Signing the Body Poetic" is the first major scholarly work to celebrate and theorize American Sign Language artistic expression, ranging from poetry to theater and film. A must for anyone interested in contemporary poetry, drama, or literary theory."--Lennard J. Davis, editor of "The Disability Studies Reader"
""Signing the Body Poetic" brings new and productive dimensions to the phrase 'body of literature.' This impressive collection details the aesthetics, the epistemological importance, and the cultural life of American Sign Language literature in clear, accessible prose. Close analyses of key texts in/as performances are enhanced by the accompanying DVD, itself aninvaluable resource. This collection will be useful for scholars and general readers interested in the complexities of literary production and reception."--Judith Hamera, author of "Opening Acts" and editor of "The Sage Handbook of Performance Studies"
"This collection is as unique as ASL, merging linguistics, nonverbal communication, and performance both in the content of the chapters and in its form (text and DVD). Unlocking the performative dimension of ASL, it merges disciplines, communicative forms, and channels while demonstrating that our ability to communicate is not limited by the organs we use to do so but only by our ability to perform."--Michael L. Hecht, coeditor of "Redefining Culture: Perspectives across the Disciplines"

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most linguistically, culturally, and geographically diverse regions of the world. As in the rest of the world, deaf people live throughout sub-Saharan communities. This is a research on sub-Saharan signed languages and deaf community - organizing has created the opportunity to gather together the perspectives presented herein. Eighteen contributors illuminate the circumstances pertaining to cross-border, cross-regional, and global engagements in sub-Saharan deaf communities.

This ground-breaking work, originally published 15 years ago, continues to serve as the primary reference on the theories of omission potential and translational contact in sign language interpreting. In the book, noted scholar Jemina Napier explores the linguistic coping strategies of interpreters by drawing on her own study of the interpretation of a university lecture from English into Australian Sign Language (Auslan). A new preface by the author provides perspective on the importance of the work and how it fits within the scholarship of interpretation studies. The concept of strategic omissions is explored here as a tool that is consciously used by interpreters as a coping strategy. Instead of being a mistake, omitting part of the source language can actually be part of an active decision-making process that allows the interpreter to convey the correct meaning when faced with challenges. For the first time, Napier found that omission potential existed within every interpretation and, furthermore, she proposed a new taxonomy of five different conscious and unconscious omission types. Her findings also indicate that Auslan/English interpreters use both a free and literal interpretation approach, but that those who use a free approach occasionally switch to a literal approach as a linguistic coping strategy to provide access to English terminology. Both coping strategies help negotiate the demands of interpretation, whether it be lack of subject-matter expertise, dealing with dense material, or the context of the situation. Napier also analyzes the interpreters' reflections on their decision-making processes as well as the university students' perceptions and preferences of their interpreters' linguistic choices and styles. Linguistic Coping Strategies in Sign Language Interpreting is a foundational text in interpretation studies that can be applied to interpreting in different contexts and to interpreter training.

Samar Sinha presents pioneering research into the grammatical properties of Indian Sign Language (ISL), a language used by members of the Deaf community in India. This detailed and well-illustrated study describes the grammar of ISL and is supplemented by comparative and theoretical analyses in the core areas of sublexical structure, morphology, and syntax. Sinha offers a field-based, comprehensive analysis that covers topics such as sign formation parameters, syllable structure, sonority hierarchy, semantics of space, pluralization strategies, phi-features, indexing and localization, agreement, and word order. He provides a description of the Indian Deaf community that serves to frame his analysis of ISL and highlights the need for greater awareness and acknowledgment of the language and its users. The lack of research on ISL in Indian academia has slowed efforts toward the standardization of ISL and the development of pedagogical materials. This work adds to the growing understanding of natural human language in general and ISL in particular. It also contributes to the empowerment of the Deaf community in India and will strengthen the efforts carried out by d/Deaf activists and researchers.

Let's say there are three Scotlands. The Scotland of cityscapes, stunning and grim. The Scotland of open spaces, stunning and grand. The Scotland of the mind: inventors of television and telephone, proponents of the existence of underwater monsters, a world of jigs and reels and long traditions, a nation which was independent in heart and mind and stance long before it had its own new parliament. This book is a guide to the distinct Scots language, urban, rural and cultural. It is aimed both at native speakers of English and those who have learned English as a second language and at native Scots. It explains and exemplifies Scots vocabulary and usage and, on occasions, makes comparisons with English usage, particularly where the differences are likely to cause confusion.

The dictionary contains an alphabetical listing of approximately 30,000 (thirty thousand) acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations and symbols covering approximately 2,000 fields and subfields ranging from Pelagic Ecology to Anthrax Disease, Artificial Organs to Alternative Cancer Therapies, Age-related Disorders to Auditory Brainstem Implants, Educational Web Sites to Biodefense, Biomedical Gerontology to Brain Development, Cochlear Implants to Cellular Phones, Constructed Viruses to Copper Metabolism, Drug Discovery Programs to Drug-resistant Strains, Eugenics to Epigenetics, Epilepsy Drugs to Fertility Research, Genetically Modified Foods/Crops to Futuristic Cars, Genetic Therapies to Glycobiology, Herbicide-tolerant Crops to Heritable Disorders, Human Chronobiology to Human gene Therapies, Immunization Programs to Lunar Research, Liver Transplantation to Microchip Technology, Mitochondrial Aging to Molecular Gerontology, Neurodegenerative Diseases to Neuropsychology of Aging, Neurosurgery to Next Generation Programs, Obesity Research to Prion Diseases, Quantum Cryptography to Reemerging Diseases, Retinal Degeneration to Rice Genome Research, Social Anthropology to Software Development, Synchrotron Research to Vaccine Developments, Remote Ultrasound Diagnostics to Water Protection, Entomology to Chemical Terrorism and hundreds of others, as well as abbreviations/acronyms/initialisms relating to European Community and U.S., Japanese and International Programs/Projects/Initiatives from year 2000 up to 2010 as well as World Bank Programs.

Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde zu dem Zwecke abgefasst, eine Einfuhrung in die reine oder nichtempirische Semantik zu geben, die sich in den letzten Jahren zu einem eigenen Forschungszweig entwickelt hat. Immer mehr dringt in der Philosophie der Gegenwart die Erkenntnis durch, dass philosophische Untersuchungen zu einem guten Teil sprachlogischer und sprachkritischer Art sein mussen, und im Rahmen solcher Untersuchungen nehmen jene der Semantik eine zentrale Stellung ein. Wahrend die Logikkalkule nur mit der traditionellen formalen Logik in einem gewissen historischen Zusammenhang stehen, ist der Kontakt zwischen der Semantik und den althergebrachten philosophischen Pro blemen ein viel engerer. Dort steht bloss der Begriff der logischen Deduk tion im Vordergrund, hier hingegen der wichtigste Begriff der Erkenntnis theorie, namlich der Begriff des wahren Urteils bzw. der wahren Aussage. 'Ober die Bedeutung einer Explikation des Wahrheitsbegriffs braucht man wohl kaum Worte zu verlieren angesichts der Tatsache, dass unser ganzes Erkenntnisstreben darauf abzielt, zu wahren Urteilen oder Satzen zu gelangen. Eine Beantwortung der Frage, was man unter einem t.oiihren Urteil bzw. einer wahren A'U88age zu verstehen habe, wird nicht innerhalb der Einzelwissenschaften gegeben, sondern ist seit jeher dem Philosophen uberlassen worden."