Type of iconicity matters in the vocabulary development of signing children

Bibliographic Data

ID9794873
AuthorsGerardo Ortega (0000-0001-5305-1467, Radboud University Nijmegen, corresponding author), Beyza Sümer (0000-0002-1605-4551, Radboud University Nijmegen), Aslı Özyürek (0000-0003-4914-2643), Asli Özyürek (0000-0002-0914-8381, Radboud University Nijmegen)
Year2017
Volume53
Issue1
Pages89-99
Publication date2017-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/dev0000161
PMID27808524
OpenAlexW2537042173
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited19

Recent research on signed as well as spoken language shows that the iconic features of the target language might play a role in language development. Here, we ask further whether different types of iconic depictions modulate children's preferences for certain types of sign-referent links during vocabulary development in sign language. Results from a picture description task indicate that lexical signs with 2 possible variants are used in different proportions by deaf signers from different age groups. While preschool and school-age children favored variants representing actions associated with their referent (e.g., a writing hand for the sign PEN), adults preferred variants representing the perceptual features of those objects (e.g., upward index finger representing a thin, elongated object for the sign PEN). Deaf parents interacting with their children, however, used action- and perceptual-based variants in equal proportion and favored action variants more than adults signing to other adults. We propose that when children are confronted with 2 variants for the same concept, they initially prefer action-based variants because they give them the opportunity to link a linguistic label to familiar schemas linked to their action/motor experiences. Our results echo findings showing a bias for action-based depictions in the development of iconic co-speech gestures suggesting a modality bias for such representations during development. (PsycINFO Database Record

Action (physics · American Sign Language · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Gesture · Iconicity · Language development · Linguistics · Perception · PsycINFO · Referent · Sign (mathematics · Sign language · Variation (astronomy · Vocabulary · Vocabulary development · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Multisensory perception and integration · Psychology

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