Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Department of Linguistics, University of Amsterdam.
J Child Lang. 2020 Nov;47(6):1101-1131. doi: 10.1017/S0305000919000928. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
Linguistic expressions of locative spatial relations in sign languages are mostly visually motivated representations of space involving mapping of entities and spatial relations between them onto the hands and the signing space. These are also morphologically complex forms. It is debated whether modality-specific aspects of spatial expressions modulate spatial language development differently in signing compared to speaking children. In a picture description task, we compared the use of locative expressions for containment, support, and occlusion relations by deaf children acquiring Turkish Sign Language and hearing children acquiring Turkish (age 3;5-9;11). Unlike previous reports suggesting a boosting effect of iconicity, and/or a hindering effect of morphological complexity of the locative forms in sign languages, our results show similar developmental patterns for signing and speaking children's acquisition of these forms. Our results suggest the primacy of cognitive development guiding the acquisition of locative expressions by speaking and signing children.
手语中的处所空间关系的语言表达大多是基于视觉的空间表示，涉及将实体和它们之间的空间关系映射到手部和手语空间上。这些表达也是形态复杂的形式。有人争论说，与口语儿童相比，空间表达的模态特异性方面是否会以不同的方式调节手语空间语言的发展。在图片描述任务中，我们比较了学习土耳其手语的聋童和学习土耳其语的听障儿童（3 岁；5-9 岁；11 岁）对包含、支撑和遮挡关系的处所表达式的使用情况。与之前的报告表明象似性具有促进作用，和/或手语中处所形式的形态复杂性具有阻碍作用的观点相反，我们的结果表明，口语儿童和手语儿童对这些形式的习得具有相似的发展模式。我们的研究结果表明，认知发展的主导地位指导着口语和手语儿童对处所表达式的习得。
