Bimodal Bilingual Code-blending: Language Synthesis

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

There are many questions for linguistic research about the nature of bilingualism, and especially concerning the ways that a bilingual person handles their two languages. It is frequently noticed that bilinguals conversing with each other may rapidly switch between their languages in a system known as "code-switching". Linguistic research has shown that code-switching is actually a sophisticated and rule-governed kind of language use, even though it is often thought of as mixing up languages. It is important to know about the ways that code-switching is constrained so that how our mental linguistic system works is better understood, and so that the linguistic needs of bilingual people are adequately addressed. This research project looks at a special kind of bilingualism, bimodal bilingualism, which occurs when a person knows both a natural sign language such as American Sign Language (ASL), and a spoken language such as English. Bimodal bilinguals also combine their two languages in sophisticated and rule-governed ways, but they have the unique option to use code-blending, the simultaneous production of aspects of speech and sign. This project is an in-depth study of the types of code-blending that are produced and accepted by bimodal bilinguals. The participants in the project are adults with normal hearing who grew up in households with at least one Deaf parent using sign language - such adults are sometimes known as Codas: children of deaf adults. Participants in our study will include Codas in the U.S., (bilingual in spoken English and American Sign Language or ASL) and Brazil (bilingual in spoken Brazilian Portuguese and Brazilian Sign Language or Libras). As a comparison, some of the studies will involve Deaf native signers to provide a baseline against which the performance of the Codas is measured. Participants will interact with a Coda researcher to produce a variety of different kinds of code-blending. By studying what linguistic structures permit code-blending and which ones do not, the investigators will build a model of bilingualism that should help to explain the types of rules governing code-switching as well as code-blending, leading to an improved understanding of bilingualism.