Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same time scale as that of
spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants …

The use of sign language has a long history. Indeed, humans' first languages may have
been expressed through sign. Sign languages have been found around the world, even in …

This essay considers the acquisition of sign languages as first languages. Most deaf
children are born to hearing parents, but a minority have deaf parents. Deaf children of deaf …

The study of sign language is intriguing from many perspectives. It holds promise of
providing new insights into the structure of human language and communication systems …

Sign language is not new. In fact, some investigators have argued that the first human
languages were signed rather than spoken (see Armstrong, 1999; Stokoe, 2001) …

This chapter addresses characteristics of input that are especially facilitative of the
development of a signed visual-gestural language. We begin by considering some key …

The recent recognition of sign languages as legitimate human languages has opened up
new and unique ways for both theoretical and applied psycholinguistics and language …

There is debate about how input variation influences child language. Most deaf children are
exposed to a sign language from their non-fluent hearing parents and experience a delay in …

Sign Languages: Structures and Contexts provides a succinct summary of major findings in
the linguistic study of natural sign languages. Focusing on American Sign Language (ASL) …

Current sign language research, as represented by the chapters in this volume, examines a
broad range of input situations and acquisition by typical and atypical learners to establish …