DOCSLIB.ORG

© 2011 Peter Kirk Crume

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
© 2011 Peter Kirk Crume © 2011 Peter Kirk Crume TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF ASL PHONOLOGICAL INSTRUCTION TO DEVELOP ASL AND ENGLISH LITERACY IN AN ASL/ENGLISH BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL BY PETER KIRK CRUME DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Jenny Singleton, Chair Professor Michelle Perry, Contingent Chair Professor Sarah McCarthey Assistant Professor Adrienne Lo Abstract This dissertation study seeks to understand how teachers who work in an ASL/English bilingual educational program for preschool children conceptualize and utilize phonological instruction of American Sign Language (ASL). While instruction that promotes phonological awareness of spoken English is thought to provide educational benefits to young children in terms of language proficiency and reading development, there is limited understanding of how deaf children may similarly benefit from the phonological instruction of ASL. Part of the resistance in promoting ASL may be related to how signs native to ASL do not directly map onto written English in the same way that spoken English does. However, ASL does incorporate the use of the manual alphabet, which is a manual representation of the English alphabet, and many signs in ASL do have partial or full overlap to words in the orthography of English. ASL also has the added benefit of being considered the natural language for deaf people, which allows teachers with the means to promote ASL phonological instruction in ways that allow students to access and utilize a language in ways that can maximize their ability to process information. Data were collected through teacher interviews and a follow-up survey. Interviews were conducted with preschool teachers and ASL specialists to gain insight into how they conceptualize and engage in phonological instruction with their deaf students. Interview questions focused on how teachers used phonological instruction for ASL development and also to enhance the student’s understanding of English. A follow- up survey was sent to the teachers with the intent of corroborating the findings in the interviews and to identify patterns of instruction that were prevalent within the individual ii classes. The analysis was conducted through a grounded theory approach that identified major themes that emerged from the data (Charmaz, 2006; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). iii This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, William and Louise Crume. Thank you for raising me and fostering my interest in the education and development of deaf children iv Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to thank my advisor, Dr. Jenny Singleton. I am forever indebted to you for your continuous support, patience, advice and positive encouragement throughout my doctoral studies and dissertation. I am very grateful for your knowledge and wisdom related to Deaf education, language and social development, and sign language research. I feel very fortunate to have had a fellow Coda as an advisor! I would also like to thank the committee members on my dissertation, Dr. Michelle Perry, Dr. Sarah McCarthey, and Dr. Adrienne Lo for your feedback and support that helped shape my dissertation. I am also grateful to the participants in my study who took the time and effort to provide me with the insight into how they develop the American Sign Language abilities of their students. I am also thankful for my involvement in the National Science Foundation, Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2). I am grateful for the student research support from VL2 that I received to cover the expenses related to this dissertation. Thank you also to the students and faculty members of the VL2 for your feedback and support. I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate in the VL2 since its inception and to have the opportunity to interact with individuals from the other Science of Learning Centers throughout my graduate program. I also owe gratitude to Dr. David Quinto-Pozos for teaching me about sign language linguistics and for giving me the opportunity to participate in some of his research studies during his time here at the University of Illinois. Likewise, I am thankful to Dr. Matt Dye for providing me with advice and positive encouragement. I also give special thanks also to my graduate student colleagues at the University of Illinois, v especially to Gabrielle Jones, Travis Wilson, Sarika Mehta, Anjali Forber-Pratt, and Wanette Reynolds, for all of your support and friendship. This acknowledgment would certainly not be complete without thanking my family for all their love, support, and patience throughout this dissertation process. My wife, Kristen Hansen, has been my primary advocate, believer, supporter, and friend throughout this whole process. She sacrificed a lot to give me the opportunity to finish this dissertation and I am forever indebted. I am also grateful to my two daughters, Cayla (age 5) and Samantha (age 2) to allow Dada to finish his “working.” There were many nights that I wished that I could have been with them instead of working of my dissertation and graduate studies. I give thanks to them for teaching me about the process of language development, as they were best role models just by being themselves. I am also very grateful to the deaf students and teachers at the Nyandarua School for the Deaf in North Kinangop, Kenya. They gave me the opportunity to teach at the school for two years, and not a day goes by that I do not think about my time there. I am especially thankful to three teachers on the staff, Michael Kanogu and Nicholas Karuri, for their friendship, support, and guidance; and Caroli Lwanga, who suggested that I pursue a graduate degree in deaf education. It was a simple suggestion that provided a moment of clarity for me when I needed it most, and altered the course of my life. I also give thanks to Dr. David Gabbard and Dr. Vivian Mott, two of the professors in my Master’s program at East Carolina University. Both of them inspired me to believe in myself and excel at a high level. I would never have even considered pursuing doctoral studies without their support, guidance, and friendship. Thank you! vi Last, but certainly, not least, I give thanks to Dr. Scott R. Smith. A true friend in every sense of the word, he treated me as a brother during our college days at East Carolina University. I will never forget the many long hours of conversation we shared over countless late nights as roommates in college, and while I served as his sign language interpreter during his medical school and pediatric residency. Scott taught me what was possible for a deaf person, and piqued my curiosity to the basic question of “How does a signing deaf person read?” This basic question drives me everyday because I learned from him that it is possible for deaf people to read extremely well and succeed academically at a high level using sign language as a primary language of communication. vii Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Figures.................................................................................................................................x Chapter One Introduction ............................................................................................................1 Chapter Two Literature Review.................................................................................................14 Chapter Three Methodology.......................................................................................................63 Chapter Four Results ..................................................................................................................83 Chapter Five Discussion and Implications ..............................................................................122 References...................................................................................................................................153 Appendix A Teacher Interview Questions ..............................................................................170 Appendix B Survey Questions ..................................................................................................172 viii List of Tables Table Page 1 Progression of Children’s Phonological Awareness.........................................................19 2 Phases of Word Recognition..............................................................................................21 3 Theorized Progression of ASL Phonological Awareness ..................................................57 4 Proposed Progression of English Word Recognition using ASL Fingerspelling ..............61 5 List of participants in the study..........................................................................................64 6 Summary of philosophical beliefs ......................................................................................84 7 Overview of instructional strategy categories ...................................................................93 8 Sub-category overview: Promoting ASL handshape knowledge .......................................94 9 Sub-category overview: Promoting manual alphabet knowledge ...................................103 10 Sub-category overview: Promoting
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sign Language Typology Series
    SIGN LANGUAGE TYPOLOGY SERIES The Sign Language Typology Series is dedicated to the comparative study of sign languages around the world. Individual or collective works that systematically explore typological variation across sign languages are the focus of this series, with particular emphasis on undocumented, underdescribed and endangered sign languages. The scope of the series primarily includes cross-linguistic studies of grammatical domains across a larger or smaller sample of sign languages, but also encompasses the study of individual sign languages from a typological perspective and comparison between signed and spoken languages in terms of language modality, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to sign language typology. Interrogative and Negative Constructions in Sign Languages Edited by Ulrike Zeshan Sign Language Typology Series No. 1 / Interrogative and negative constructions in sign languages / Ulrike Zeshan (ed.) / Nijmegen: Ishara Press 2006. ISBN-10: 90-8656-001-6 ISBN-13: 978-90-8656-001-1 © Ishara Press Stichting DEF Wundtlaan 1 6525XD Nijmegen The Netherlands Fax: +31-24-3521213 email: [email protected] http://ishara.def-intl.org Cover design: Sibaji Panda Printed in the Netherlands First published 2006 Catalogue copy of this book available at Depot van Nederlandse Publicaties, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag (www.kb.nl/depot) To the deaf pioneers in developing countries who have inspired all my work Contents Preface........................................................................................................10
    [Show full text]
  • Sign Languages in Contact
    INTRO_Sign_Pozos_Gaul_193027 7/30/07 11:19 AM Page 1 Editor’s Introduction: Outlining Considerations for the Study of Signed Language Contact David Quinto-Pozos To my knowledge, this volume represents the first book-length collec- tion of various accounts of contact between sign languages, and this brings with it excitement as well as the realization of challenges that lie ahead.1 As many researchers who are interested in language contact might suggest, it is exciting because these chapters contribute to our un- derstanding of the structural and social aspects of contact and how such contact affects language in the visual-gestural modality. They provide us with information about Deaf communities throughout the world, as well as language data that speak to the ways in which contact is manifested in those communities. This global perspective allows us to examine con- tact situations in search of commonalties and recurring patterns. It also enables us to see how some outcomes of contact between sign languages might or might not fit the general patterns of contact that have been demonstrated for spoken languages. Perhaps as a way to balance the ex- citement about this topic, the sobering truth is that we know so little about contact between sign languages. As a result, we are faced with the task of documenting examples of such contact and the challenge of ex- amining the effects of visual meaning creation on linguistic structures that occur in these contact situations. By focusing on this area of inquiry, we stand to gain much knowledge about how language works. The study of language contact among signed languages forces us to carefully consider how the visual-gestural modality of human com- munication influences language birth, development, change, and de- cay or loss from disuse.
    [Show full text]
  • © 2011 Peter Kirk Crume
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository © 2011 Peter Kirk Crume TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF ASL PHONOLOGICAL INSTRUCTION TO DEVELOP ASL AND ENGLISH LITERACY IN AN ASL/ENGLISH BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL BY PETER KIRK CRUME DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Jenny Singleton, Chair Professor Michelle Perry, Contingent Chair Professor Sarah McCarthey Assistant Professor Adrienne Lo Abstract This dissertation study seeks to understand how teachers who work in an ASL/English bilingual educational program for preschool children conceptualize and utilize phonological instruction of American Sign Language (ASL). While instruction that promotes phonological awareness of spoken English is thought to provide educational benefits to young children in terms of language proficiency and reading development, there is limited understanding of how deaf children may similarly benefit from the phonological instruction of ASL. Part of the resistance in promoting ASL may be related to how signs native to ASL do not directly map onto written English in the same way that spoken English does. However, ASL does incorporate the use of the manual alphabet, which is a manual representation of the English alphabet, and many signs in ASL do have partial or full overlap to words in the orthography of English. ASL also has the added benefit of being considered the natural language for deaf people, which allows teachers with the means to promote ASL phonological instruction in ways that allow students to access and utilize a language in ways that can maximize their ability to process information.
    [Show full text]
  • Sign Language Acronyms
    Sign language acronyms Throughout the Manual, the following abbreviations for sign languages are used (some of which are acronyms based on the name of the sign language used in the respective countries): ABSL Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language AdaSL Adamorobe Sign Language (Ghana) ASL American Sign Language Auslan Australian Sign Language BSL British Sign Language CSL Chinese Sign Language DGS German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache) DSGS Swiss-German Sign Language (Deutsch-Schweizerische Gebärdensprache) DTS Danish Sign Language (Dansk Tegnsprog) FinSL Finnish Sign Language GSL Greek Sign Language HKSL Hong Kong Sign Language HZJ Croatian Sign Language (Hrvatski Znakovni Jezik) IPSL Indopakistani Sign Language Inuit SL Inuit Sign Language (Canada) Irish SL Irish Sign Language Israeli SL Israeli Sign Language ÍTM Icelandic Sign Language (Íslenskt táknmál) KK Sign Language of Desa Kolok, Bali (Kata Kolok) KSL Korean Sign Language LIS Italian Sign Language (Lingua dei Segni Italiana) LIU Jordanian Sign Language (Lughat il-Ishaara il-Urdunia) LSA Argentine Sign Language (Lengua de Señas Argentina) Libras Brazilian Sign Language (Língua de Sinais Brasileira) LSC Catalan Sign Language (Llengua de Signes Catalana) LSCol Colombian Sign Language (Lengua de Señas Colombiana) LSE Spanish Sign Language (Lengua de Signos Española) LSF French Sign Language (Langue des Signes Française) LSQ Quebec Sign Language (Langue des Signes Québécoise) NGT Sign Language of the Netherlands (Nederlandse Gebarentaal) NicSL Nicaraguan Sign Language NS Japanese Sign Language (Nihon Syuwa) NSL Norwegian Sign Language NZSL New Zealand Sign Language DOI 10.1515/9781501511806-003, © 2017 Josep Quer, Carlo Cecchetto, Caterina Donati, Carlo Geraci, Meltem Kelepir, Roland Pfau, and Markus Steinbach, published by De Gruyter.
    [Show full text]
  • Usted Es Haragán Pero Vos Sos Lazy: Initialization in Honduran Sign Language
    USTED ES HARAGÁN PERO VOS SOS LAZY: INITIALIZATION IN HONDURAN SIGN LANGUAGE by Peter T. Cahill University of Pittsburgh, B.Phil, 2012 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of University of Pittsburgh in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor‟s of Philosophy in Linguistics & International & Area Studies University of Pittsburgh 2012 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE This thesis was presented by Peter T. Cahill It was defended on February 29, 2012 and approved by Judy Shepard-Kegl, Professor, Linguistics, University of Southern Maine Scott Kiesling, Associate Professor, Linguistics Helen Stickney, Visiting Assistant Professor, Linguistics Thesis Advisor: Claude Mauk, Lecturer, Linguistics ii Copyright © by Peter T. Cahill 2012 iii USTED ES HARAGÁN PERO VOS SOS LAZY: INITIALIZATION IN HONDURAN SIGN LANGAUGE Peter T. Cahill University of Pittsburgh, 2012 Initialization, an outcome of language contact common to signed languages, has become a global phenomenon. I define initialization as the incorporation of the orthography of a word of a dominant spoken language via the cultural construct of a manual orthography into signs with a semantic correspondence to that word. Despite its being very common within (relatively) well- documented sign languages such as American Sign Language (Padden & Brentari, 2001), Australian Sign Language (Schembri & Johnston, 2007) and Québec Sign Language (Machabée, 1995), the literature on the subject is very small. To assist in expanding the nascent fields of sociolinguistics and anthropology of Deaf communities, ethnographic research involving primarily corpus building, interviews and participant observation was performed within the Deaf community of central Honduras to offer preliminary insights into how the personal and group identities of the Honduran Deaf are negotiated through linguistic interactions.
    [Show full text]
  • Deaf and Disability ARTS PRACTICES in Canada RESEARCH REPORT Canada Council for the Arts Research, Measurement and Data Analytics 150 Elgin Street P.O
    Picture. On stage with a black curtain in the back, a white man and woman are standing side-by-side smiling with their arms in the air. They are each wearing a birthday hat and are standing by a cake decorated by Bengal lights. Near the cake, the man is holding a lighter in his hand. Deaf and Disability ARTS PRACTICES in Canada RESEARCH REPORT Canada Council for the Arts Research, Measurement and Data Analytics 150 Elgin Street P.O. box 1047 Ottawa (Ontario) K1P 5V8 1-800-263-5588 or 613-566-4414, extension 4522 canadacouncil.ca Université du Québec à Montréal Département de communication sociale et publique Pavillon Judith-Jasmin 405 Sainte-Catherine Street East P.O. box 8888, Station Centre-Ville Montréal (Quebec) H3C 3P8 514-987-3000, extension 3545 uqam.ca The UQAM is located on unceded Indigenous territory. Tiohtiá :ke (Montréal) was historically a meeting place for many First Nations, and various Indigenous and non-Indigenous people live there today. Picture. Background image. Black and white image. A white woman with dark hair in a ponytail is wearing glasses and a black shirt and is sitting in a wheelchair. She has her right arm raised with her closed fist covered by streaks of paint. Her left arm is folded towards her. Background : In May 2018, the Research, Measurement and Data Analytics Section at the Canada Council for the Arts (the “ Council ”) signed a contract with theUniversité du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and a research team, requesting that they conduct a study to document the arts practices of Deaf and disabled people.
    [Show full text]
  • Investigating Disjunction in American Sign Language: the Importance of Nonmanual Signals and the Influence of English
    Investigating disjunction in American Sign Language: The importance of nonmanual signals and the influence of English by Olivia Podlesny A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Cognitive Science Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2015 Olivia Podlesny Abstract This thesis investigates the importance of nonmanual signals (facial expressions, movements of the head and body) in American Sign Language (ASL), and argues that nonmanual signals are the overt realization of logical operators. The empirical focus is on disjunction. First, we explore the effect of English influence on nonmanual signals, using Kidd’s (2010) theory of the displacement of elements, to account for the pervasive influence of English on the language of native signers. Second, we examine native signers’ interpretation of a nonmanual coordinator (a shifting of the body from one side to the other) that is ambiguous between inclusive-disjunction/conjunction, and may be disambiguated with additional nonmanual signals; head nod for conjunction, squint/furrowed brow for disjunction (Davidson, 2013). We find a mismatch between linguistic competence and linguistic performance in delayed first language learners, and a preference for a conjunctive interpretation by native signers when there is a lack of disambiguating cues. We show that this preference is part of a general pattern in populations with the inclusive-disjunction/conjunction ambiguity, such as adult speakers of Warlpiri (Bowler, 2014) and English-speaking children (Singh et al., 2013). ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank Carleton University SLaLS Faculty ASL Expert Jon Kidd, who has been my mentor for the last eight years, and has made a tremendous impact on my life.
    [Show full text]
  • Canada's Maritime Sign Language
    THB UNIVBRSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATB STUDIES COPYRIGHT PBRMISSION Canada's Maritime Sign Language By Judith Yoel A Thesis/PI'acticum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the clegree of Doctor of Philosophy Judith YoelO2009 Permission has been grantecl to the University of Manitoba Libraries to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, to Library and Archives Canarla (LAC) to lencl a copy of this thesiiþracticum, and to LAC's agent (UMI/ProQuest) to microfilm, sell copies and to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reprocluction or copy of this thesis has been macle available by authority of the copyright olvner solely for the purpose of private stucly and research, and may only be reproducetl antl copied as permitted by copyright laws or lvith express written authorization from the copyright ownór. Canada's Maritime Sign Language by Judith Yoel A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of tvïanitoba in partial fulfilment of the requireri',ents of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Linguistics University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright O 2009 by Judith Yoet Abstract: Canada's Maritime Sign Language (MSL) This research undertakes the first comprehensive, academic study of Maritime Sign Language (MSL), a signed language used by elderly Deaf people in Canada's Maritime Provinces. Although the majority of Canada's Deaf population currently uses American Sign Language (ASL), some Deaf people continue tc use MSL, which is thought to stem from British Sign Language (BSL).
    [Show full text]
  • The Typological Classification of Sign Language Morphology
    The typological classification of sign language morphology Joke Schuit Master’s Thesis, 2007 Research MA Linguistics Universiteit van Amsterdam AMSTERDAM Table of contents Languages and glossing conventions used................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 4 2. Signed languages: an introduction to the research and phonology ................................... 7 2.1 Sign language research: introduction .......................................................................... 7 2.1.1 The oral language compatibility view versus the sign language differential view8 2.2 Sign language phonology.......................................................................................... 10 3. Typology and processes .................................................................................................. 15 3.1. Morphological typology............................................................................................ 16 3.1.1. Traditional classification..................................................................................... 17 3.1.2. Morphological processes that are difficult to classify typologically................... 19 3.2. Morphological processes........................................................................................... 22 3.2.1. Derivation in spoken languages .........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Language: a Preview WILLIAM O’GRADY
    11 Language: A Preview WILLIAM O’GRADY The gift of language is the single human trait that marks us all genetically, setting us apart from the rest of life. Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell anguage is at the heart of all things human. We use it when we’re talking, thinking, Lreading, writing and listening. It’s part of the social structure of our communities; it forges the emotional bond between parent and child; it’s the vehicle for literature and poetry. Language is not just a part of us; language defines us. All normal human beings have at least one language, and it is difficult to imagine much significant social, intellectual or artistic activity taking place without the opportunities for communication offered by language. Language Matters How many languages are there in the world today? That’s not an easy question, since little is known about the linguistic situation in many parts of the world. The most complete compilation to date can be found at www.ethnologue.com, which lists 6,912 languages. But this is not the whole story. Many languages have only two or three hundred speakers (or fewer), and many others are in grave danger of demise as indigenous peoples throughout the world lose their traditional cultures and homelands. We discuss this in more detail in Chapter 8. In the meantime, you can find out more by reading Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World’s Language by Daniel Nettles and Suzanne Romaine (Oxford University Press, 2000), or by visiting www.terralingua.org. Linguistics is the study of how language works – how it is used, how it is acquired, how it changes over time, how it is represented in the brain, and so on.
    [Show full text]
  • Simplified Signs
    B Simplifed Signs onvillian Volume 1: Principles, A Manual Sign-Communication System for Special Populations Background, and Application , K Volume 1: Principles, Background, and Application issane John D. Bonvillian, nicole Kissane lee, Tracy T. Dooley, anD Filip T. loncKe l Simplifed Signs presents a system of manual sign communicaton intended for ee Simplifed Signs special populatons who have had limited success mastering spoken or full sign , D languages. It is the culminaton of over twenty years of research and development ooley by the authors. The Simplifed Sign System has been developed and tested for ease of sign comprehension, memorizaton, and formaton by limitng the complexity , of the motor skills required to form each sign, and by ensuring that each sign an visually resembles the meaning it conveys. D l Volume 1 outlines the research underpinning and informing the project, and onc places the Simplifed Sign System in a wider context of sign usage, historically K and by diferent populatons. Volume 2 presents the lexicon of signs, totalling e A Manual Sign-Communication approximately 1000 signs, each with a clear illustraton and a writen descripton of how the sign is formed, as well as a memory aid that connects the sign visually System for Special Populations to the meaning that it conveys. While the Simplifed Sign System originally was developed to meet the needs of s impli persons with intellectual disabilites, cerebral palsy, autsm, or aphasia, it may also assist the communicaton needs of a wider audience – such as healthcare F professionals, aid workers, military personnel , travellers or parents, and children ie D who have not yet mastered spoken language.
    [Show full text]
  • A Grammatical Sketch of Sivia Sign Language
    **pre-defense draft** A GRAMMATICAL SKETCH OF SIVIA SIGN LANGUAGE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN LINGUISTICS DECEMBER 2017 By Brenda Rae Clark Dissertation Committee: James Woodward, Chairperson William O'Grady, Chairperson Lyle Campbell Gary Holton Amy Hubbard Keywords: sign language, Peru, sketch grammar, language documentation, South America ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the Bilinski Educational Foundation for providing the funding to carry out fieldwork and to complete this dissertation. I truly would not be here without your generosity. I also want to thank James Woodward for always supporting and encouraging me, for many rounds of feedback on drafts and ideas, and for introducing me to sign linguistics in the first place. William O'Grady has also helped to ensure that this text is as clear and scientific as possible. Support from other faculty, friends, and family has been of monumental importance as well. This applies doubly to my mother, who is also the artist responsible for some of my elicitation materials. A mis participantes en Sivia, no puedo expresar cuanto me han ayudado. Gracias por aceptarme en su vida y por compartir tanto conmigo. Espero que esta descripción revele el respeto enorme que siento por su comunidad y su lenguaje. También hay que agradecer a la Asociación de sordos del Perú y la Asociación de sordos de Ayacucho por guiarme a la región de VRAE, y a la Municipalidad de Sivia por informarme sobre la región y la historia.
    [Show full text]