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The acquisition of conditionals in American Sign Language: Grammaticized facial expressions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Judy Snitzer Reilly ,
Marina Mcintire  and
Ursula Bellugi
Judy Snitzer Reilly*
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
Marina Mcintire
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
Ursula Bellugi
Affiliation:
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
*
Judy S. Reilly, Department of Psychology-PART, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182–0551
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Abstract

An unusual facet of American Sign Language (ASL) is its use of grammaticized facial expression. In this study, we examine the acquisition of conditional sentences in ASL by 14 deaf children (ages 3;3–8;4) of deaf parents. Conditional sentences were chosen because they entail the use of both manual signs and grammaticized non-manual facial expressions. The results indicate that the children first acquire manual conditional signs, e.g., SUPPOSE, before they use the obligatory grammaticized conditional facial expression. Moreover, the children acquire the constellation of obligatory non-manual behaviors component by component, rather than holistically.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , December 1990 , pp. 369 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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