Department of Psychology, Davidson College.
Centre for Language Evolution, The University of Edinburgh.
Cogn Sci. 2023 Apr;47(4):e13277. doi: 10.1111/cogs.13277.
In this paper, we use motion tracking technology to document the birth of a brand new language: Nicaraguan Sign Language. Languages are dynamic entities that undergo change and growth through use, transmission, and learning, but the earliest stages of this process are generally difficult to observe as most languages have been used and passed down for many generations. Here, we observe a rare case of language emergence: the earliest stages of the new sign language in Nicaragua. By comparing the signing of the oldest and youngest signers of Nicaraguan Sign Language, we can track how the language itself is changing. Using motion tracking technology, we document a decrease in the size of articulatory space of Nicaraguan Sign Language signers over time. The reduction in articulatory space in Nicaraguan Sign appears to be the joint product of several decades of use and repeated transmission of this new language.
在本文中，我们使用运动跟踪技术记录了一种全新语言的诞生：尼加拉瓜手语。语言是动态的实体，通过使用、传播和学习经历着变化和发展，但这个过程的最早阶段通常很难观察到，因为大多数语言已经使用和传承了许多代。在这里，我们观察到一个罕见的语言出现案例：尼加拉瓜新手语的最早阶段。通过比较尼加拉瓜手语最老和最年轻的使用者的手语，我们可以追踪语言本身的变化。我们使用运动跟踪技术记录了尼加拉瓜手语使用者的发音空间随时间的缩小。尼加拉瓜手语发音空间的缩小似乎是这种新语言几十年使用和反复传播的共同产物。
