Signed Languages
Online Encyclopedias
The following links will take you to online encyclopedias and reference manuals that you can search to help you get started on your research. Here you can find general background information, definitions, and history on many linguistic terms and concepts.
- Easy Way Series: E-Z American Sign LanguageThis heavily illustrated, self-teaching guide to ASL-American Sign Language-is useful both for the deaf and for those men and women who teach or work among deaf people.
- The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language SciencesThe volume is aimed at readers who have an interest in some aspect of language science but wish to learn more about the broad range of ideas, findings, practices, and prospects that constitute this rapidly expanding field, a field arguably at the center of current research on the human mind and human society.
Print Encyclopedias and Reference
The library also has a number of print encyclopedias that can be found in the Reference section on the second floor of the library. Reference books cannot be checked out of the library but there are scanners available on the second floor that can be used to scan information from these texts into a PDF which you can email to yourself.
The American Sign Language Handshape Dictionary by Call Number: HV2475.T46 1998This illustrated reference organizes more than 1,600 ASL signs by 40 basic hand shapes and includes detailed descriptions on how to form each sign to represent the varying terms that they might mean.
The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language by Call Number: HV2475 .G35 2005More than 3,000 ASL Sign Illustrations Fully Searchable Full-Color DVD Featuring Every Sign Special ASL Classifier Section Complete Index of English Synonyms for Every Sign Created by an unparalleled board of experts led by renowned ASL linguist and poet Clayton Valli, The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language represents the culmination of more than five years of meticulous assessment and labor. More than 3,000 illustrations arrayed in this volume display the most useful selection of signs to be found in any single ASL reference resource. Each sign illustration, including depictions of fingerspelling when appropriate, incorporates a complete list of English synonyms. A full, alphabetized English index enables users to cross-reference words and signs throughout the entire volume.
Good Starting Databases for Signed Languages
The following databases are good places to go to start researching your topic. Each database has a slightly different focus, so you might need to try out a couple of databases before finding one that returns the sort of results you are looking for.
- ERIC (EBSCO Education Resources Information Center) This link opens in a new windowJournal articles and reports in education.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowAn archive of important scholarly journals, eBooks and primary sources in 75 disciplines. Offers high-resolution, scanned images of journal issues and pages as originally published.
Good Starting Journals for Signed Languages
The following are links to specific academic journals which are published and peer-reviewed by experts in the field. If you want to narrow your search to a specific topic or issue, finding a journal that publishes in that area can help.
- American Annals of the DeafThe Annals publishes articles about deaf education and recent research into trends and issues in the field of deafness.
- Journal of InterpretationThe Journal of Interpretation (JOI) is a scholarly publication of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf that includes articles, research reports and commentaries relevant to the interpreting field. The JOI reflects a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the interpretation and translation of languages.
- Sign Language StudiesSign Language Studies publishes a wide range of original scholarly articles and essays relevant to signed languages and signing communities. The journal provides a forum for the dissemination of important ideas and opinions concerning these languages and the communities who use them. Topics of interest include linguistics, anthropology, semiotics, Deaf culture, and Deaf history and literature.
Featured Books
Currently, the featured books section highlights some of the library's best handbooks & companions for signed languages, which typically offer the reader an opportunity to survey and learn about a broad field of scholarship in a comprehensive way. They give a snap shop of the discipline covered at the time the book is published. Unlike a retrospective collection of articles, these guides are written or edited as a planned and intentional effort, with chapters and sections interrelating and complimenting one another and thereby tend to be more readable and integrated research works.
Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies, Language, and Education by Call Number: HV2474.S28 2006In this landmark volume, a wide range of international experts present a comprehensive and accessible overview of the diverse field of deaf studies, language, and education. Pairing practical information with detailed analyses of what works, why, and for whom, and banishing the paternalism once intrinsic to the field, the handbook consists of specially commissioned essays on topics such as language and language development, hearing and speech perception, education, literacy, cognition, and the complex cultural, social, and psychological issues associated with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Through careful planning, collaboration, and editing, the various topics are interwoven in a manner that allows the reader to understand the current status of research in the field and recognize the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, providing the most comprehensive reference resource on deaf issues.
Sign Language and Linguistic Universals by Call Number: HV2474.S28 2006Sign Languages are of great interest to linguists, because while they are produced by the same brain, their physical transmission differs greatly from that of spoken languages. In this pioneering study, Wendy Sandler and Diane Lillo-Martin compare spoken languages with those that are signed, in order to seek universal properties of human languages. No prior background in sign language linguistics is assumed, and numerous pictures are provided to make descriptions accessible to readers. This book will be invaluable to all those interested in linguistics and its application to sign languages.
Advances in the Sign Language Development of Deaf Children by Call Number: HV2474.A38 2006This volume brings together the leading scholars on the acquisition and development of sign languages to present the latest theory and research on these topics. They address theoretical as well as applied questions and provide cogent summaries of what is known about early gestural development, interactive processes adapted to visual communication, linguisic structures, modality effects, and semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic development in sign.Along with its companion volume, Advances in the Spoken Language Development of Deaf and Hard-of Hearing Children, this book will provide a deep and broad picture about what is known about deaf children's language development in a variety of situations and contexts. From this base of information, progress in research and its application will accelerate, and barriers to deaf children's full participation in the world around them will continue to be overcome.
It's Not What You Sign, It's How You Sign It by Call Number: HV2474.H69 2007It’s Not What You Sign, It’s How You Sign It is framed within politeness theory, an apt model to determine various interpretations of what speakers or signers mean in respect to the form of that which they say or sign. The variations reveal how linguistic and cultural differences intersect in ways that are often misinterpreted or overlooked in cross-cultural communication. To clarify these cross-linguistic differences, this volume explores two primary types of politeness and the linguistic strategies used by English speakers and ASL signers to express politeness concerns in face-to-face interaction. Hoza’s final analysis leads to a better understanding of the rich complexity of the linguistic choices of these language groups.
The Syntax of American Sign Language by Call Number: HV2474.S994 1999Recent research on the syntax of signed languages has revealed that, apart from some modality-specific differences, signed languages are organized according to the same underlying principles as spoken languages. This book addresses the organization and distribution of functional categories in American Sign Language (ASL), focusing on tense, agreement, and wh-constructions.
