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Ted Supalla

The program integrates the history of American Sign Language (ASL) with research that has been done on the structure, learning, and historical change of ASL and other sign languages. In this program, you will learn how sign languages are structured and how these structures vary. It also looks at how children and adults acquire the ability to understand and use sign language. The program takes a deep dive into recent research on how sign languages have come into existence and how they change as they are used over generations of deaf and hearing users. In addition, this program serves as a resource that helps students process new information, including cutting-edge research.

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The program integrates the history of American Sign Language (ASL) with research that has been done on the structure, learning, and historical change of ASL and other sign languages. In this program, you will learn how sign languages are structured and how these structures vary. It also looks at how children and adults acquire the ability to understand and use sign language. The program takes a deep dive into recent research on how sign languages have come into existence and how they change as they are used over generations of deaf and hearing users. In addition, this program serves as a resource that helps students process new information, including cutting-edge research.

The program is divided into four parts, each exploring different aspects of sign language. The program will introduce students to the science of sign language research and, for the fluent ASL signer, the history and structure of their own language. The content exposes students to an intermediate level in the fields of linguistics and cognitive sciences.

What you'll learn

  • Identify the historical origins in natural gesture for the emergence of ASL grammar.
  • Describe the degree and types of structural variation within ASL, considering the possible influences from its contacts with other signed and spoken languages.
  • Discuss the role of visual analogy in learning ASL, considering the possible linguistic universals for signed languages.
  • List ways in which language specific variation and historical change for signed languages may compare and contrast to those for spoken languages.
  • Describe the visual, motoric, and cognitive constraints which may give rise to these phenomena.

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What's inside

Three courses

Sign Language Science: Factors Contributing to Nature Structure

(16 hours)
In this course, we will explore how people make sign language work. We will analyze the language itself, examining how alterations within a sign can change its meaning and affect word order. This is discussed under the broad term "structure", as many factors influence signed language grammar. We will take a layered, cumulative approach to understanding these factors.

Sign Language Science: Factors Contributing to Natural Learning

(0 hours)
In this course, we will examine how various factors influence language learning patterns. Age, for instance, is a crucial predictor of fluency. We will also explore the role of the mind in signed languages, particularly how they primarily activate the left hemisphere, unlike spoken languages.

Sign Language Science: Factors Contributing to Natural Change

(16 hours)
In this course, we will explore how ASL has changed over time. Early ASL looked different from today's ASL. We will examine historical data and discuss how the language evolved.

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