From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

International Sign (IS) (also Gestuno,[1] International Sign Language (ISL), International Sign Pidgin[2] and International Gesture (IG)[3]) is an international auxiliary language sometimes used at international meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) congress, events such as the Deaflympics, and informally when travelling and socialising. It can be seen as a kind of pidgin sign language, which is not as conventionalised or complex as natural sign languages and has a limited lexicon.

History

Deaf people have used a kind of auxiliary gestural system for international communication at sporting or cultural events since the early 19th century.[4] The need to standardise an international sign system was discussed at the first World Deaf Congress in 1951, when the WFD was formed. In the following years, a pidgin developed as the delegates from different language backgrounds communicated with each other, and in 1973, a WFD committee ("the Commission of Unification of Signs") published a standardized vocabulary. They selected "naturally spontaneous and easy signs in common use by deaf people of different countries"[5] to make the language easy to learn. A book published by the commission in the early 1970s, Gestuno: International Sign Language of the Deaf, contains a vocabulary list of about 1500 signs. The name "Gestuno" was chosen, referencing gesture and oneness.

However, when Gestuno was first used, at the WFD congress in Bulgaria in 1976, it was incomprehensible to deaf participants.[6] Subsequently, it was developed informally by deaf and hearing interpreters, and came to include more grammar — especially linguistic features that are thought to be universal among sign languages, such as role shifting and the use of classifiers. Additionally, the vocabulary was gradually replaced by more iconic signs and loan signs from different sign languages.

The name Gestuno has fallen out of use, and the phrase "International Sign" is now more commonly used in English to identify this sign variety. Indeed, current IS has little in common with the signs published under the name 'Gestuno'.

A parallel development has been occurring in Europe in recent years, where increasing interaction between deaf communities has led to the emergence of a pan-European pidgin or creole sign.

Vocabulary

The lexicon of International Sign is limited, and varies between signers. IS interpreter Bill Moody noted in a 1994 paper that the vocabulary used in conference settings is largely derived from the sign languages of the Western world and is less comprehensible to those from African or Asian sign language backgrounds.[7] A 1999 study by Bencie Woll suggested that IS signers often use a large amount of vocabulary from their native language,[8] choosing sign variants that would be more easily understood by a foreigner.[9] In contrast, Rachel Rosenstock notes that the vocabulary exhibited in her study of International Sign was largely made up of highly iconic signs common to many sign languages:

"[O]ver 60% of the signs occurred in the same form in more than eight SLs as well as in IS. This suggests that the majority of IS signs are not signs borrowed from a specific SL, as other studies found, but rather are common to many natural SLs. Only 2% of IS signs were found to be unique to IS. The remaining 38% were borrowed (or "loan") signs that could be traced back to one SL or a group of related SLs."[10]

Grammar

People communicating in International Sign tend to make heavy use of role play, as well as a feature common to most signed languages researched to date: an extensive formal system of classifiers. Classifiers are used to describe things, and they transfer well across linguistic barriers. It has been noted that signers are generally better at interlingual communication than non-signers, even without a lingua franca. Perhaps, along with deaf people's experience with bridging communication barriers, the use of classifiers is a key reason.

A paper presented in 1994 suggested that IS signers "combine a relatively rich and structured grammar with a severely impoverished lexicon".[11] Supalla and Webb (1995) describe IS as a kind of a pidgin, but conclude that it is "more complex than a typical pidgin and indeed is more like that of a full sign language".[12]

Letters and numbers

A manual alphabet is used for fingerspelling names, which is based on the one-handed systems used in Europe and America for representing the Roman alphabet. In a two-way conversation, any manual alphabet known may be used; often one speaker will fingerspell using the alphabet of the other party, as it is often easier to spell quickly in an unfamiliar alphabet than to read quickly. ISL also has a standardised system of numbers as these signs vary greatly between sign languages.

Use of indigenous signs

Each region's own sign is preferred for country and city names. This may be used in conjunction with spelling and classifying for the first instance, and the indigenous sign used alone from then on.

Examples of International Sign

• WFD homepage — contains a short QuickTime video in ISL with English subtitles.
• Digital version of Gestuno: International Sign Language of the Deaf / Langage Gestuel International des Sourds — Contains original ISL signs (many now outdated) in photograph form

See also

• Lingua franca
• List of sign languages
• Sign language
• World Federation of the Deaf

References

1. ^ Rubino, F., Hayhurst, A., and Guejlman, J. (1975). International sign language of the deaf. Carlisle: British Deaf Association.
2. ^ McKee R., Napier J. (2002) "Interpreting in International Sign Pidgin: an analysis." Journal of Sign Language Linguistics 5(1).
3. ^ Bar-Tzur, David (2002). International gesture: Principles and gestures website
Moody, W. (1987).International gesture. In J. V. Van Cleve (ed.), "Gallaudet encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness", Vol 3 S-Z, Index. NewYork: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc.
4. ^ McKee R., Napier J. (2002), citing:
*Moody, B. (n.d.). International communication among deaf people. Unpublished, undated manuscript.
*Scott Gibson, L. & R. Ojala (1994). “International Sign Interpreting.” Paper presented to the Fourth East and South African Sign Language Seminar, Uganda, August 1994.
5. ^ British Deaf Association. (1975). Gestuno: International sign language of the deaf. Carlisle, England: BDA.
6. ^ Rosenstock, Rachel. International Sign: Negotiating Understanding, Research at Gallaudet, Fall 2005 - Winter 2006. This article was derived from the author's 2004 PhD dissertation:
* Rosenstock, Rachel. (2004). An Investigation of International Sign: Analyzing Structure and Comprehension. Gallaudet University.
7. ^ Moody, B. (1994). International Sign: Language, pidgin or charades? Paper presented at the "Issues in Interpreting 2" conference, University of Durham, Durham, April 1994. Cited in McKee R., Napier J. (2002)
8. ^ Sutton-Spence, Rachel and Woll, Bencie. (1999) The Linguistics of British Sign Language: An Introduction. 32. ISBN 052163718X
9. ^ Day, Linda, (2000) British Sign Language in its Social Context, Session 10: Language Planning and Standardisation - notes for students
10. ^ Rosenstock, Op cit.
11. ^ Allsop, Lorna; Woll, Bencie; Brauti, John Martin (1995). International sign: The creation of an international deaf community and sign language. In: Bos, Heleen F. and Schermer, Gertrude M. (eds): "Sign Language Research 1994: Proceedings of the Fourth European Congress on Sign Language Research, Munich, September 1–3, 1994." (International Studies on Sign Language and Communication of the Deaf; 29) Hamburg : Signum (1995) - p. 187
12. ^ Supalla, T. and Webb, R. (1995). "The grammar of international sign: A new look at pidgin languages." In: Emmorey, Karen / Reilly, Judy S. (eds): Language, gesture, and space. (International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research) Hillsdale, N.J. : Erlbaum (p. 347).

External links

• International Sign Language
• Indigenous signs for countries
• Indigenous signs for cities
• Digital version of Gestuno: International Sign Language of the Deaf / Langage Gestuel International des Sounds

Bibliography

• McKee R., Napier J. (2002) "Interpreting in International Sign Pidgin: an analysis." Journal of Sign Language Linguistics 5(1).
• Allsop, Lorna; Woll, Bencie; Brauti, John Martin (1995). International sign: The creation of an international deaf community and sign language. In: Bos, Heleen F. and Schermer, Gertrude M. (eds): "Sign Language Research 1994: Proceedings of the Fourth European Congress on Sign Language Research, Munich, September 1–3, 1994." (International Studies on Sign Language and Communication of the Deaf; 29) Hamburg : Signum (1995) - pp. 171–188
• Supalla, Ted and Webb, Rebecca, (1995). "The grammar of international sign: A new look at pidgin languages." In: Emmorey, Karen / Reilly, Judy S. (eds): Language, gesture, and space. (International Conference on Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research) Hillsdale, N.J. : Erlbaum - pp. 333–352.
• Webb, Rebecca and Supalla, Ted, (1994). Negation in international sign. In: Ahlgren, Inger / Bergman, Brita / Brennan, Mary (eds): Perspectives on sign language structure: Papers from the Fifth International Symposium on Sign Language Research. Vol. 1; Held in Salamanca, Spain, 25–30 May 1992. Durham : isla (1994) - pp. 173–186
• Moody, W. (1987). "International Gestures." In: van Cleve, J. V. (ed.) Gallaudet encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness. 3. S-Z,Index. New York, NY [u.a.] : McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. - pp. 81–82.
• Rubino, F., Hayhurst, A., and Guejlman, J. (1975). International sign language of the deaf. (revised and expanded). Carlisle: British Deaf Association [for] the World Federation of the Deaf.
• Magarotto, Cesare, (1974). Towards an International Language of Gestures. (Unesco Courier)

Original source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Sign

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Research into non-human great ape language has involved teaching chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans to communicate with human beings and with each other using sign language, physical tokens, and lexigrams; see Yerkish. Some primatologists argue that the primates' use of these tools indicates their ability to use "language", although this is not consistent with some definitions of that term.

Questions in animal language research

Animal language research attempts to answer the following questions:

• What problems can animals solve without language, and can they solve them better after they have received language training?
• Can the lessons learned in teaching animals be applied to human children?
• How, and how much, do animals' abilities to learn language differ from those of humans?
• Are the abilities that underlie language general or highly specialized?
• Where is the line between language and other forms of communication?

Apes that demonstrate understanding

Non-human animals have been recorded to have produced behaviors that are consistent with meanings accorded to human sentence productions. (A production is a stream of lexemes with semantic content. A language is grammar and a set of lexemes. A sentence, or statement, is a stream of lexemes that obeys a grammar, with a beginning and an end.) Some animals in the following species can be said to "understand" (receive), and some can "apply" (produce) consistent, appropriate, grammatical streams of communication. David Premack and Jacques Vauclair have cited language research for the following animals:

• Common Chimpanzees[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
• Bonobos[7][8]
• Gorillas[9]
• Orangutans[10]

Primate use of sign language

Sign language and computer keyboards are used in primate language research because non-human primate vocal cords cannot close fully,[11][12] and they have less control of the tongue and lower jaw.[13] However, primates do possess the manual dexterity required for keyboard operation.

Many researchers into animal language have presented the results of the studies described below as evidence of linguistic abilities in animals. Many of their conclusions have been disputed.[14][15]

It is now generally accepted that Apes can learn to sign and are able to communicate with humans. However, it is disputed as to whether they can form syntax to manipulate such signs.

Washoe

Washoe, a Common Chimpanzee, was caught in the wild in 1966. When she was about ten months old, she was received by the husband-and-wife research team of Beatrix T. Gardner and R. Allen Gardner.[16] Chimpanzees are completely dependent until two years of age and semi-dependent until the age of four. Full adult growth is reached between 12 and 16 years of age. So the Gardners received her at a good age for research into language development. The Gardners tried to make Washoe's environment as similar as possible to what a human infant with deaf parents would experience. There was always a researcher or assistant in attendance during Washoe's waking hours. Every researcher communicated with Washoe by using American Sign Language (ASL), minimizing the use of the spoken voice. The researchers acted as friends and companions to Washoe, using various games to make the learning as exciting as possible.

The Gardners used many different training methods:

• Imitation: After Washoe had learned a couple of words, she started, like chimpanzees usually do, to imitate naturally. For example, when she entered the Gardners' bathroom, she spontaneously made the sign for "toothbrush", simply because she saw one.
• Babbling: In this case, "babbling" does not mean vocal babbling. Instead, Washoe used untaught signs to express a desire. She used a begging gesture, which was not much different from the ASL signs "give me" and "come." (Human infants who are learning sign language often babble with their hands.)
• Instrumental Conditioning: The researchers used instrumental conditioning strategies with Washoe. For example, they taught the word "more" by using tickling as a reward. This technique was later applied to a variety of relevant situations.

The results of the Gardners' efforts were as follows:

• Vocabulary: When a sign was reported by three independent observers, it was added to a checklist. The sign had to occur in an appropriate context and without prompting. The checklist was used to record the frequency of a sign. A sign had to be used at least once a day for 15 consecutive days before it was deemed to have been acquired. Alternatively, a sign had to be used at least 15 days out of 30 consecutive days. By the end of the 22nd month of the project, thirty-four signs had been learned.
• Differentiation: Washoe used the sign "more" in many different situations until a more specific sign had been learned. At one point, she used the sign for "flower" to express the idea of "smell." After additional training, Washoe was eventually able to differentiate between "smell" and "flower."
• Transfer: Although the same object was presented for each learning trial (a specific hat, for example), Washoe was able to use the sign for other similar objects (e.g. other hats).
• Combinations: Washoe was able to combine two or three signs in an original way. For example, "open food drink" meant "open the fridge" and "please open hurry" meant "please open it quickly."

Nim Chimpsky

Linguistic critics challenged the animal trainers to demonstrate that Washoe was actually using language and not symbols. The null hypothesis was that the Gardners were using conditioning to teach the chimpanzee to use hand formations in certain contexts to create desirable outcomes, and that they had not learned the same linguistic rules that humans innately learn.

In response to this challenge, the chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky was taught to communicate using sign language in studies led by Herbert S. Terrace. In 44 months, Nim Chimpsky learned 125 signs.[17] However, linguistic analysis of Nim's communications demonstrated that Nim's use was symbolic, and lacked grammar, or rules, of the kind that humans use in communicating via language. This constitutes a chimpanzee vocabulary learning rate of roughly 0.1 words per day. This rate is not comparable to the average college-educated English-speaking human who learns roughly 14 words per day between ages 2 and 22.[18]

Sign Language in the Wild

A two-year study by researchers from the University of St Andrews of chimpanzees at Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda, concluded that this wild group make use of at least 66 distinct gestures to facilitate communication.[19]

Plastic tokens

Sarah and two other chimpanzees, Elizabeth and Peony, in the research programs of David Premack, demonstrated the ability to produce grammatical streams of token selections. The selections came from a vocabulary of several dozen plastic tokens; it took each of the chimpanzees hundreds of trials to reliably associate a token with a referent, such as an apple or banana. The tokens were chosen to be completely different in appearance from the referents. After learning these protocols, Sarah was then able to associate other tokens with consistent behaviors, such as negation, name-of, and if-then. The plastic tokens were placed on a magnetic slate, within a rectangular frame in a line. The tokens had to be selected and placed in a consistent order (a grammar) in order for the trainers to reward the chimpanzees.

One other chimpanzee, Gussie, was trained along with Sarah but failed to learn a single word. Other chimpanzees in the projects were not trained in the use of the tokens. All nine of the chimpanzees could understand gestures, such as supplication when asking for food; similarly, all nine could point to indicate some object, a gesture which is not seen in the wild. The supplication is seen in the wild, as a form of communication with other chimpanzees.[20]

A juvenile Sumatran orangutan Aazk (named after the American Association of Zookeepers) who lived at the Roeding Park Zoo (Fresno, California) was taught by Gary L. Shapiro from 1973 to 1975 how to "read & write" with plastic children's letters, following the training techniques of David Premack. The technique of conditional discrimination was used such that the orangutan could eventually distinguish plastic letter (symbols) as representations of referents (e.g., object, actions) and "read" an increasingly longer series of symbols to obtain a referent (e.g., fruit) or "write" an increasingly longer series of symbols to request or describe a referent. While no claim of linguistic competence was made, Aazk's performance demonstrated design features of language, many similar to those demonstrated by Premack's chimpanzee, Sarah.

Kanzi

Kanzi, a Bonobo, is believed to understand more human language than any other nonhuman animal in the world. Kanzi apparently learned by eavesdropping on the keyboard lessons researcher Sue Savage-Rumbaugh was giving to her adoptive mother. Kanzi learned to communicate with a Lexigram board, pushing symbols that stand for words. The board is wired to a computer, so the word is then vocalized out loud by the computer. This helps Kanzi develop his vocabulary and enables him to communicate with researchers.

One day, Rumbaugh used the computer to say to Kanzi, "Can you make the dog bite the snake?" It is believed Kanzi had never heard this sentence before. In answering the question, Kanzi searched among the objects present until he found a toy dog and a toy snake, put the snake in the dog's mouth, and used his thumb and finger to close the dog's mouth over the snake. In 2001, Alexander Fiske-Harrison, writing in the Financial Times, observed that Kanzi was "asked by an invisible interrogator through head-phones (to avoid cueing) to identify 35 different items in 180 trials. His success rate was 93 per cent."[21] In further testing, beginning when he was 7 ½ years old, Kanzi was asked 416 complex questions, responding correctly over 74% of the time. Kanzi has been observed verbalizing a meaningful noun to his sister.[22]

Criticisms of primate language research

Some scientists, including MIT linguist Noam Chomsky and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, are skeptical about claims made for great ape language research.[23][24] Among the reasons for skepticism are the differences in ease with which human beings and apes can learn language; there are also questions of whether there is a clear beginning and end to the signed gestures and whether the apes actually understand language or are simply doing a clever trick for a reward.

While vocabulary words from American Sign Language are used to train the apes, native users of ASL note that mere knowledge of ASL's vocabulary does not equate to ASL, but more closely reflects Pidgin Signed English which is not a full-fledged language. In the research involving Washoe, all researchers returned lists of signs Washoe used, with the exception of the one deaf native ASL user who reported no signs but many gestures. Native users of ASL make clear distinctions about what handshapes, palm orientations, and places of articulation signs must have to constitute linguistic activity. Signs must also be used combinatorially and in the correct grammatical sequence. Thus, apes are seen as attempting to approximate these complex rules but are considered to be failing because of such malformations in the production of ASL signs. A precondition for a successful experiment with teaching a true sign language to primates ought to be^{[citation needed]} ensuring that the main contact persons are all native speakers of the sign language^{[citation needed]}, as it is otherwise analogous to trying to raise a human child as a speaker of a language to which you possess only a dictionary—with mispronunciations and worst of all giving only a pidgin model.

Great ape language in fiction

Fantasy writer Edgar Rice Burroughs invented a fictitious great ape language called Mangani in his Tarzan books. This imagined language included such words as Kreegah! ("Beware!") and Tarmangani ("Great White Ape"). These words and others are sometimes used by cartoonists, and for facetious slang. (See Kreegah bundolo).

Writer Michael Crichton used the concept of great ape language in his 1980 novel Congo, in which a fictional gorilla named Amy communicates extensively with her keeper using ASL. This is also shown in the movie Congo.

The X-Files has an episode titled Fearful Symmetry in which a gorilla named Sophie communicates extensively with humans via sign language.

The 1987 film Project X, starring Matthew Broderick, had a chimpanzee, named Virgil, use of American Sign Language as an important part of the plot.

The 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes two apes using sign language to communicate with humans and with each other. Though the apes' brains have been enhanced in the film, there is an orangutan named Maurice and a chimpanzee named Caesar shown to use sign language prior to any enhancement.

See also

• Animal cognition
• Animal communication
• Animal language
• Animal training
• Human-animal communication
• Kreegah bundolo
• Language – as it pertains to humans
• Language acquisition
• Operant conditioning
• Origin of language
• Primate cognition
• Proto-language (glottogony)
• Theory of mind
• Yerkish

Researchers

• Roger Fouts
• David Premack
• Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

Animals

• Ai (chimpanzee)
• Chantek (orangutan)
• Kanzi (Bonobo)
• Lana (chimpanzee)
• Koko (gorilla)
• Lucy Temerlin (chimpanzee)
• Nim Chimpsky (chimpanzee)
• Panzee and Panbanisha (chimpanzee and bonobo)
• Sarah (chimpanzee)
• Washoe (chimpanzee)
• Rinnie (orangutan)
• Viki (chimpanzee)

Notes

1. ^ Plooij, F.X. (1978) "Some basic traits of language in wild chimpanzees?" in A. Lock (ed.) Action, Gesture and Symbol New York: Academic Press.
2. ^ Nishida, T. (1968) "The social group of wild chimpanzees in the Mahali Mountains". Primates 9, 167-224
3. ^ Premack, D. (1985) "'Gavagai!' or the future of the animal language controversy". Cognition 19, 207-296
4. ^ Gardner, R.A. and Gardner, B.T. (1969), "Teaching Sign Language to a Chimpanzee", Science 165, 664-672.
5. ^ Gardner, R.A., Gardner, B.T., and Van Cantfort, T.E. (1989), Teaching Sign Language to Chimpanzees, Albany: SUNY Press.
6. ^ Terrace, H.S. (1979). Nim: A chimpanzee who learned Sign Language New York: Knopf.
7. ^ a b Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S, Rumbaugh, D.M., McDonald, K. (1985). "Language learning in two species of apes". Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 9, 653-665.
8. ^ Savage-Rumbaugh, E.S., McDonald, K, Sevcik, R.A., Hopkins, W.D., and Rupert E. (1986). "Spontaneous symbol acquisition and communicative use by pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus)". Journal of Experimental Psychology:General 115, 211-235.
9. ^ Patterson, F.G. and Linden E. (1981), The education of Koko, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
10. ^ Miles, H.L. (1990) "The cognitive foundations for reference in a signing orangutan" in S.T. Parker and K.R. Gibson (eds.) "Language" and intelligence in monkeys and apes: Comparative Developmental Perspectives. Cambridge Univ. Press. pp.511-539.
11. ^ Beard, Robert. "Can Chimpanzees Talk?". Goodword's Office. AlphaDictionary.com.
12. ^ Falk, Dean (July 1975). "Comparative Anatomy of the Larynx in Man and the Chimpanzee: Implications for Language in Neanderthal". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 43: 123–132.
13. ^ Bolles, Edmund Blair (October 1, 2006). "The Human FOXP2 Gene". Babel's Dawn.
14. ^ "Animal Communication". Department of Linguistics, The Ohio State University. 1994. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
15. ^ Wallman, Joel (1992). Aping Language. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0521406668.
16. ^ "Meet the Family – Washoe's Biography". Friends of Washoe. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
17. ^ Terrace, H. S. (1979). Nim. New York: Knopf.
18. ^ Dale Purves, ed. Neuroscience (2nd Edition ed.). pp. 591.
19. ^ BBC News
20. ^ Premack and Premack, The mind of an ape.
21. ^ Fiske-Harrison, Alexander 'Talking With Apes', Financial Times, Weekend, 24–25 November 2001
22. ^ Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Smithsonian magazine, November 2006
23. ^ "On the Myth of Ape Language". 2007/2008. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
24. ^ Pinker, Steven (2004). "The Language Instinct". Retrieved 2011-03-24.

References

• David Premack. Intelligence in Ape and Men.
• Hillix, W.A. and Duane Rumbaugh. Animal Bodies, Human Minds.
• Jacques Vauclair, Animal Cognition:an introduction to Modern Comparative Psychology. ISBN 0-674-03703-0
• Allen Gardner, Beatrix T. Gardner, & Thomas E. Van Cantfort (Eds.) Teaching Sign Language to Chimpanzees. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-88706-966-5

External links

• edu – "Animal Communication" (from the book Language Files, Sixth Edition), editors: Stefanie Jannedy, Robert Poletto, Tracey L. Weldon, Department of Linguistics Ohio State University (1994)
• Great Ape Trust - "Use of Human Languages by Captive Great Apes" from the book World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation by Duane Rumbaugh, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and William Fields (2005)
• Thailand tree apes use song as warning

Original source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_ape_language

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