Development of the minimal contrasts perception in the Brazilian sign language by a group of Coda/O desenvolvimento da percepcao dos contrastes minimos na lingua Brasileira de sinais em um grupo de Codas

• Published in: Revista CEFAC 2016-07, Vol.18 (4), p.835
• Main Authors: Vargas, Diessica Zacarias, Mezzomo, Carolina Lisboa, Kessler, Themis Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• ISSN: 1516-1846
• DOI: 10.1590/1982-021620161842016

Purpose: to verify the emergence and acquisition of the minimal contrasts perception in the Brazilian Sign Language, by Children of Deaf Adults. Methods: nine collections of Brazilian Sign Language perception skills of normal hearing children with deaf parents, from two to nine years old, during their language development period, were performed and analyzed. The applied test consisted of 35 minimal pairs, signs which varied in only one parameter, which could be: hand configuration, location, movement or orientation. The signs were graphically represented through pictures. It was performed statistical analysis with significance level of 5%. The used tests were the comparison tests by Friedman and Wilcoxon, and also the Spearman correlation. Results: the parameter movement is more easily perceived than the other contrasts, followed by the parameters location and hand configuration, which act in a similar way in the perception of these learners. The most difficult contrasts to be perceived was orientation. Another relevant finding refers to age group, because as more contact with sign language the children had, better was the Coda performance in the perception test of the minimal contrasts. Conclusion: it was perceived that through the perception test it was possible to detect which parameters are first acquired. The most easily perceived movement parameter, followed by location and hand configuration, while orientation was the last to be acquired. Keywords: Sign Language; Deafness; Child; Language; Multilingualism Objetivo: verificar o surgimento e a estabilizacao da percepcao dos contrastes minimos da Lingua Brasileira de Sinais, criancas ouvintes filhas de pais surdos. Metodos: foram analisadas nove coletas das habilidades perceptuais em Lingua Brasileira de Sinais de criancas ouvintes, filhas de pais surdos com idades entre dois e nove anos. O instrumento aplicado foi composto de 35 pares minimos, sinais que variavam em somente um parametro, podendo esse ser: configuracao de mao, locacao, movimento ou orientacao. Realizou-se analise estatistica com nivel de significancia de 5%, e foram utilizados o teste de comparacao de Friedman e Wilcoxon, alem da correlacao de Spearman. Resultados: o parametro movimento e percebido mais facilmente do que os demais contrastes. Seguido dos parametros locacao e configuracao de mao, que atuam de maneira semelhante na percepcao dos aprendizes desta lingua. O contraste mais dificil de ser percebido refere-se a orientacao. Qu