Psycholinguistics of Signed Languages

Catalog description

The study of how humans comprehend and produce language has traditionally been informed by research into spoken language processing. In this course, students will explore the utility of psycholinguistic theories for understanding the processing of signed languages, with a focus on what can be learned about the human capacity for language by also considering the modality in which a language is expressed. The focus will be on the perception and production of signed language, from infancy to adulthood. The course will cover empirical and theoretical discussions of the concept of critical periods, age of acquisition effects, delayed first language learning and second-language learning. Finally, the course will consider how language oppression and socio- cultural factors have resulted in large variability in how signed languages are processed.