Example of recurring change. Still images from video dictionary entries that illustrate the phonological pattern of thumb extension. Both signs are produced with four fingers extended, but the “work” sign in New Zealand SL (left) is produced without thumb extension, while the “work” sign in British SL (right) displays the extension of the thumb. Credit: Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.add7766 (From: www.spreadthesign.com).
An international team of linguistics experts have traced the origins of the most common modern sign languages using a computer model to compare them to each other. The research is published in the journal Science.
In this new effort, the research team noted that although studies have traced the linguistic history of written languages, little work has been done on the origin of sign languages. They say there are more than 300 sign languages used by hearing-impaired people around the world, and little is known about their origins or how they may have impacted each other.
Sign languages, like spoken and written languages, are specific to groups or cultures, and many of them correspond to their written counterparts: for example, there is Spanish sign language, as well as French, l Spanish and Japanese.
For this new study, the research team sought to learn more about their origins by analyzing how the languages’ words are formed using the hands. They first focused their efforts on 19 major sign languages, sorting words according to what they describe as basic vocabulary attributes, focusing on the hand shape for “tree,” for example, as opposed to “oak”. They then entered the main words into a database to perform a computer analysis of the glossaries of all the languages studied.
As part of this analysis, modeling took into account the physical attributes used to form words and concepts, such as whether they were formed using one or two hands, the shape of the hand, hand location, and hand and arm movement. The researchers also programmed their model to perform phylogenetic analysis in cross-language comparisons to study common traits or similarities in word expression.
The research team was able to construct family trees of sign languages, with a major split between European and Asian sign languages. They were also able to associate modifications or additions to sign languages based on known historical events. For example, they determined that when French leaders greatly expanded the educational system for the deaf in the 18th century, French sign language matured and became a strong influence on other sign languages. The model also allowed the team to discover previously unknown associations, such as those between varieties of British and Western sign languages.
More information:
Natasha Abner et al, Computational phylogenetics reveals histories of sign languages, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.add7766
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