Iconic Gestures Serve as Manual Cognates in Hearing Second Language Learners of a Sign Language: An ERP Study

When learning a second spoken language, cognates, words overlapping in form and meaning with one's native language, help breaking into the language one wishes to acquire. But what happens when the to-be-acquired second language is a sign language? We tested whether hearing nonsigners rely on th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 2020-03, Vol.46 (3), p.403-415
Main Authors: Ortega, Gerardo, Özyürek, Aslı, Peeters, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain
Brain Hemisphere Functions
Cognates
College Students
Diagnostic Tests
Event-related potentials
Exposure
Female
Foreign Countries
Foreign Language Learning
Foreign Languages
Gestures
Hearing
Hearing (Physiology)
Human
Iconic Memory
Indo European Languages
Language Processing
Learning
Linguistics
Male
Native Language
Nonverbal Communication
Second Language Learning
Semiotics
Sign Language
Task Analysis
Test Construction
Words (Phonetic Units)
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Summary:When learning a second spoken language, cognates, words overlapping in form and meaning with one's native language, help breaking into the language one wishes to acquire. But what happens when the to-be-acquired second language is a sign language? We tested whether hearing nonsigners rely on their gestural repertoire at first exposure to a sign language. Participants saw iconic signs with high and low overlap with the form of iconic gestures while electrophysiological brain activity was recorded. Upon first exposure, signs with low overlap with gestures elicited enhanced positive amplitude in the P3a component compared to signs with high overlap. This effect disappeared after a training session. We conclude that nonsigners generate expectations about the form of iconic signs never seen before based on their implicit knowledge of gestures, even without having to produce them. Learners thus draw from any available semiotic resources when acquiring a second language, and not only from their linguistic experience.
ISSN:0278-7393
1939-1285
DOI:10.1037/xlm0000729