Sign and gesture
Currently, Dr. Quinto-Pozos is collaborating with Dr. Kearsy Cormier (Deafness, Cognition, and Language Centre at University College London) and Dr. Amanda Holzrichter (Universidad de las Americas) in this area of research. In our current project, we are investigating ways in which signers of different sign languages take advantage of constructed action (the signer’s use of parts of his/her body to portray characteristics of a referent) to complement the linguistic part of a message. A portion of this work focuses on the degree to which the use of constructed action is an obligatory part of communication for signers. In general, questions such as these drive our research designs and methods:
- How does the use of constructed interact with the use of so-called classifier forms of sign languages?
- What types of references tend to be described and/or depicted by so-called classifier forms and constructed action?
- What characteristics of constructed action suggest that it is linguistic versus non-linguistic in nature?
- How does the production of constructed action vary as a function of register?
Relevant publications:
Quinto-Pozos, David (to appear). Can constructed action be considered obligatory? Lingua
Quinto-Pozos, David (to appear). Why does constructed action seem obligatory? An analysis of classifiers and the lack of articulator-referent correspondence. Sign Language Studies
Quinto-Pozos, David & Mehta, Sarika (manuscript under review) Variation in the use of constructed action across three styles/registers.
Currently, this work is being funded by a University of Illinois College Research Board grant to David Quinto-Pozos
Atypical sign acquisition
This line of research reflects a collaboration between the labs of Dr. Jenny Singleton and Dr. David Quinto-Pozos. The project examines language difficulties that are exhibited by some Deaf children who are raised in signing households. The spoken language research generally suggests that more than 5% of children who use speech as their primary medium for language exhibit some type of language disorder. But, scientific research on developmental sign language disorders is not widely available. Furthermore, there is no general movement to provide signed language therapy for cognitively intact deaf children who experience such language learning problems. We hope that this research will make important contributions to our understanding of language disorders in the broadest sense, although it also has practical application for developing therapeutic approaches to be used with deaf children with language disorders. Questions that guide our research are the following:
- What forms do developmental language disorders take in the signed modality?
- Can signed language disorders be categorized similarly to spoken language disorders (e.g., stuttering, Specific Language Impairment, etc.)?
- What are possible mechanisms for therapeutic intervention with deaf children who exhibit characteristics of atypical sign acquisition?
This project is currently being funded by a Mary Jane Neer grant to David Quinto-Pozos
Social influences on signed productions
Some of the work of Quinto-Pozos and colleagues investigates various sociolinguistic phenomena as they apply to Deaf communities. In essence, we are interested in patterns of language use by Deaf people across different situations. In some cases, Deaf individuals and communities are in frequent contact with Deaf people from other countries, and this may result in contact between two sign languages. Further, we are interested in ways in which the specific situation in which language is produced (e.g., who is the “audience”, what is the purpose of the event, etc.) can influence the form of the message. Questions that guide this research are:
- What are characteristics of the contact between two sign languages?
- Do signers code-switch between two sign languages? If so, how is it similar to and different from the code-switching between two spoken languages?
- What are the characteristics of formal signing in ASL versus signing in casual environments or signing in classrooms with deaf school children?
Relevant publications and manuscripts:
Quinto-Pozos, David & Mehta, Sarika (manuscript under review) Variation in the use of constructed action across three styles/registers.
Quinto-Pozos, David (manuscript under review) Code-switching between sign languages. To appear in: Barbara Bullock & Jacqeline Toribio, (Eds.), The handbook of code-switching, Cambridge University Press.
Quinto-Pozos, David (Ed.) (in press) Contact between sign languages. Gallaudet University Press.
Quinto-Pozos, David (in press) Outlining considerations for the study of sign language contact. To appear in: David Quinto-Pozos, (Ed.), Contact between sign languages. Gallaudet University Press.
Quinto-Pozos, David & Reynolds, Wanette (manuscript in preparation) Revisiting Zimmer: Register variation in ASL across three styles/registers
Currently, this work is being funded by a University of Illinois College Research Board grant to David Quinto-Pozos