The Uniformity and Diversity of Language: Evidence from Sign Language.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Sandler W
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2976059 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
The Uniformity and Diversity of Language: Evidence from Sign Language.
Lingua. International review of general linguistics. Revue internationale de linguistique generale 20101201 12
Evidence from sign language strongly supports three positions: (1) language is a coherent system with universal properties; (2) sign languages diverge from spoken languages in some aspects of their structure; and (3) domain-external factors can be identified that account for some crucial aspects of language structure -- uniform and diverse -- in both modalities. Assuming that any of these positions excludes the others defeats the purpose of the enterprise. ...[more]
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