Lexical variation and change in British sign language

Rose Stamp, Adam Schembri, Jordan Fenlon, Ramas Rentelis, Bencie Woll, Kearsy Cormier

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper presents results from a corpus-based study investigating lexical variation in BSL. An earlier study investigating variation in BSL numeral signs found that younger signers were using a decreasing variety of regionally distinct variants, suggesting that levelling may be taking place. Here, we report findings from a larger investigation looking at regional lexical variants for colours, countries, numbers and UK placenames elicited as part of the BSL Corpus Project. Age, school location and language background were significant predictors of lexical variation, with younger signers using a more levelled variety. This change appears to be happening faster in particular sub-groups of the deaf community (e.g., signers from hearing families). Also, we find that for the names of some UK cities, signers from outside the region use a different sign than those who live in the region.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere94053
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume9
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 23 Apr 2014
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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