ASL Perception and Production: Evidence from Eye Tracking

The Salk Institute For Biological Studies, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Karen Emmorey will conduct three years of psycholinguistic research on the the perception and production of American Sign Language (ASL). This project includes the first experiments using head-mounted eye tracking technology to study eye behaviors of signers. One set of studies will investigate the social and conversational functions of eye gaze during sign perception. Deaf signing dyads and hearing speaking dyads will be compared to identify perceptual, linguistic, and social demands on eye gaze for signed versus spoken language interactions. A second set of studies will investigate eye movements during sign production. These studies address the grammatical functions of eye gaze in ASL and identify how signers co-ordinate their eye movements with the linguistic structure of signed sentences. Tthe project will also compare the eye behaviors of native deaf signers with adult late learners (hearing and deaf) during sign perception and production. The study of signed languages is essential to an understanding of the nature of human language universals and variation. It is also significant for the development of second language programs that train sign language interpreters, as well as instructors for deaf education programs. The use of eye gaze to mark linguistic structure is unique to signed languages, and the results of this project will provide insight into how language modality can affect grammatical encoding. The project will also identify how second language learners must alter their eye gaze patterns during both sign language perception and production. Finally, deafness has a substantial impact on the ability of students to gain access to academic and scientific careers, and this project aims to promote the participation of deaf people in research by supporting a deaf graduate student and providing a research environment accessible to deaf students.