Anaphoric reference in ASL. The developmental trajectory of adolescent learners.
In order to become proficient narrators, children must learn how to produced structured discourse, making
appropriate use of linguistic structure and obeying discourse pragmatic principles. One important step is the
mastery of anaphoric use of pronouns, i.e. 'Kate saw Peter. He waved at her', which is known to happen fairly
late in both Deaf1 and hearing2 children, despite the fact that they begin using pronouns relatively early. Young
ASL acquiring children progress from the use of literal points (at objects or people), to signs (to name objects or
people), to abstract points (at empty locations where objects or people have been), and finally to anaphora,
pronominal reference to language structure 3. Homesigners have been observed to use abstract points 4. but
whether they develop beyond this level and whether and how second-language, L2, or late first-language, L1,
learners develop ASL pronouns is largely unknown.
We answer this question by investigating development of anaphoric reference in ASL as a function of age of
acquisition. Adapting the original picture-description paradigm of Karmiloff-Smith 5 (the balloon stories), we
created 6 sets of pictures depicting causally related events, each with two characters and one object. The
pictures are shown sequentially on a computer screen; participants are instructed to describe the events in ASL
under three counterbalanced conditions: 1) large scale pictures of the characters are present throughout the
stimulus events and during the participant’s ASL description; 2) the large scale pictures are placed on chairs
during the stimulus events but removed immediately before the participant’s description; and 3) no props are
present at any time. We test three groups who vary in age of L1 vs L2 acquisition: (a) young adult proficient
signers, deaf and hearing; (b) hearing college students currently studying ASL; and deaf immigrants learning
ASL as an L1. The ASL picture descriptions are videotaped, transcribed and managed with ELAN; each
character reference is coded as being named with a sign, a pronoun, or a point to either a prop, a location where a
prop was, or to another location. Because they have well-developed language, proficient signers, deaf or hearing,
will use ASL anaphoric reference independent of condition. Because they are learning ASL, the college students
are expected to use anaphoric reference and abstract points, but not signs or points to props. By contrast, the deaf
immigrants learning ASL are expected to use points to props and signs.
In extensive pilot work analyzing the story retelling of deaf adult signers who were native signers, late L1
learners, and adolescent homesigners learning ASL, we found, as predicted, that the native signers use ASL
anaphoric reference in contrast to the late L1 learners who use significantly fewer ASL pronouns, and the
adolescent learners used no pronouns at all (Table 1). Our on-going study experimentally replicates these results
and tests the hypothesis that late L1 learners follow the path of young child language learners in their acquisition
of anaphoric reference.
References
1
Morgan, G. (2006). The development of narrative skills in British Sign Language. In: Schick B,
Marschark M, Spencer E, J., editors. Advances in the Sign Language Development of Deaf Children.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 314-43.
2
Wigglesworth, G. (1997). Children's individual approaches to the organization of narrative. Journal of
Child Language, 24, 279-309
Hickmann, M. (2003). Children’s discourse: person, time, and space across languages. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
3
Hatzopoulou, M. (2008). Acquisition of reference to self and others in Greek Sign Language.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation: Stockholm University.
Loew, R. (1984). Roles and reference in American Sign Language: a developmental perspective.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation: University of Minnesota.
4
Butcher, C., Mylander, C. & Goldin-Meadow, S. (1991). Displaced communication in a self-styled
gesture system: Pointing at the non-present. Cognitive Development, 6, 315-342
5
Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1981). The grammatical marking of thematic structure in the development of
language production. In: Deutsch, W, editor. The Child's Construction of Language. London: Academic
Press, 123-147.
Table 1. ASL pronouns used in narratives as a function
of age of ASL acquisition.
Age of
Utterances
% Lexical Items
Acquisition
Analyzed
as Pronouns
0
24
.35
0
87
.41
9
24
.25
9
92
.03
13
500
.01
13
100
.00
14
100
.00
14
100
.00