Neuroscience
The New York Times reported on Feb. 1, 2005 about a new sign language developing in the Negev desert of Israel. More recently, New Scientist covered the story as well, in their Oct. 22, 2005 issue.
In A language is born, Michael Erard reports several interesting aspects of the Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (Note: subscription is required, or check your library’s LexisNexis database for the full-text.
). This language developed in isolation and is very different from two nearby sign languages, especially in preferred word order. Rather than being subject-verb-object or verb-subject-object, like Hebrew & Israeli Sign languages or colloquial Arabic (respectively), ASBL is a subject-object-verb.
Some of the linguists from the nearby University of Haifa wonder if this preference suggests an innate linguistic trait. Further, because ASBL is spoken by relatively few people, it isn’t getting the “critical mass” needed to set it to develop more sophisticated patterns. Sadly, the children’s language seem to be influenced by nearby Israeli Sign Language, so ASBL may not tell us how many brains it takes to make a language.
But the possibilities are fascinating. You can read more about it in the The emergence of grammar: Systematic structure in a new language, published in the Feb. 7, 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (should be free to all; it’s an open access journal)
- Tip Of The Fingers Syndrome
We’ve all had that ‘tip of the tongue’ feeling when we’re sure we know the word or name for something but we just can’t think of it. Now a study has shown that a similar phenomenon occurs in American Sign Language (ASL), in what the researchers...
- Musing About The Sound Of Amygdala
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Amygdala: Word as Earworm By JAMES GORMAN The New York Times Published: January 11, 2005 My infatuation with the amygdala has led me to wonder where aphasia and amusia overlap, a subject that neurologists have been investigating...
- A Linguistic Anthropologist In Brazil
Heard an interview with linguistic anthropologist Dan Everett (mp3) on "Sci Pod", New Scientist's podcast. Everett talks about the Piraha (pronounced "pita ha", best I can tell without a phonetic alphabet) people's lack of words for numbers and...
- Uconn Cog Sci Colloquium -- Friday, Oct. 14
Sorry I’m going to miss this one … Speaker: Herbert Terrace, Columbia University Title: "Thought without Language" Time: 4pm, Friday, October 14, 2005 Place: Class of '47 Room, Babbidge Library, University of Connecticut / Storrs In recent years,...
- Hyperpolyglots, From New Scientist
From the Jan 8, 2005 issue of New Scientist: How come some people can learn dozens of foreign languages when many of us struggle with just one? Michael Erard investigates Revealing the talents of the language masters THE news arrived as an unexpected...
Neuroscience
More about Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language
The New York Times reported on Feb. 1, 2005 about a new sign language developing in the Negev desert of Israel. More recently, New Scientist covered the story as well, in their Oct. 22, 2005 issue.
In A language is born, Michael Erard reports several interesting aspects of the Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (Note: subscription is required, or check your library’s LexisNexis database for the full-text.
). This language developed in isolation and is very different from two nearby sign languages, especially in preferred word order. Rather than being subject-verb-object or verb-subject-object, like Hebrew & Israeli Sign languages or colloquial Arabic (respectively), ASBL is a subject-object-verb.
Some of the linguists from the nearby University of Haifa wonder if this preference suggests an innate linguistic trait. Further, because ASBL is spoken by relatively few people, it isn’t getting the “critical mass” needed to set it to develop more sophisticated patterns. Sadly, the children’s language seem to be influenced by nearby Israeli Sign Language, so ASBL may not tell us how many brains it takes to make a language.
But the possibilities are fascinating. You can read more about it in the The emergence of grammar: Systematic structure in a new language, published in the Feb. 7, 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (should be free to all; it’s an open access journal)
- Tip Of The Fingers Syndrome
We’ve all had that ‘tip of the tongue’ feeling when we’re sure we know the word or name for something but we just can’t think of it. Now a study has shown that a similar phenomenon occurs in American Sign Language (ASL), in what the researchers...
- Musing About The Sound Of Amygdala
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Amygdala: Word as Earworm By JAMES GORMAN The New York Times Published: January 11, 2005 My infatuation with the amygdala has led me to wonder where aphasia and amusia overlap, a subject that neurologists have been investigating...
- A Linguistic Anthropologist In Brazil
Heard an interview with linguistic anthropologist Dan Everett (mp3) on "Sci Pod", New Scientist's podcast. Everett talks about the Piraha (pronounced "pita ha", best I can tell without a phonetic alphabet) people's lack of words for numbers and...
- Uconn Cog Sci Colloquium -- Friday, Oct. 14
Sorry I’m going to miss this one … Speaker: Herbert Terrace, Columbia University Title: "Thought without Language" Time: 4pm, Friday, October 14, 2005 Place: Class of '47 Room, Babbidge Library, University of Connecticut / Storrs In recent years,...
- Hyperpolyglots, From New Scientist
From the Jan 8, 2005 issue of New Scientist: How come some people can learn dozens of foreign languages when many of us struggle with just one? Michael Erard investigates Revealing the talents of the language masters THE news arrived as an unexpected...