Psycholinguistics, Primary

Phonological-Level Processes

Signs are made up of phonological features in a manner similar to spoken words. However, spoken words comprise many “feature sets” (i.e., sounds) that rapidly change across time as a word is produced. Alternatively, most signs consist of one simultaneously produced feature set (i.e., a single handshape, movement, and location). Even in signs that change across time, generally only a single feature changes. Presentation of single sets of simultaneously produced phonological features with signs affects lexical recognition of signs identified earlier (after seeing approximately 35 percent of a sign) as compared to presentation of many sequentially produced feature sets with words.

Another likely outcome of the fast-changing sequential nature of spoken words is that phonological information is processed quickly and incrementally, with word onsets, or first available sounds, given special status. For signs, neither incremental processing nor the importance of sign onsets have been established. In terms of sign onsets, results from early gating studies (single video-frame presentation of a sign, with subsequent presentations increasing in length) suggest that the analog to onsets is handshape and location. Specifically, when asked to name a sign, initial responses with only the first video-frames revealed tended to share handshape and location features of a target sign but not movement features. Once the sign movement was identified, the target sign also tended to be identified. If sign processing parallels spoken-word processing, then location and handshape features should have special status. Further, if all possible signs that match the current input are incrementally and rapidly activated as found for spoken words, then signs sharing the first recognized features (i.e., location, handshape) should be activated. Results, however, have been mixed regarding the importance of handshape and location features. Below we consider some evidence.

In priming studies, specific features of a sign presented as a “prime” influence the speed at which a following “target” sign sharing those features is accessed. Priming is attributed to partial activation of phonologically related signs when a sign prime is activated. A partially activated sign can be accessed more quickly when it follows as a target. Identifying the phonological features that influence access to signs informs us about how signs are represented in our mental lexicon.

While priming has been found for signs, the phonological relationship triggering priming has not been consistent. Corina and Emmorey found a priming effect in American Sign Language (ASL) when prime and target signs shared location or movement features, but not handshape features. Carreiras found priming in Spanish Sign Language (LSE) only when prime and target signs shared location features, while Corina and Hildebrandt found no evidence of phonological priming for signs sharing movement or location features. In a picture-sign interference task for Catalan Signed Language in which signers produced picture names while ignoring distractor signs in the background, Baus found target signs were named more quickly when they shared handshape or movement features with the distractors but were named more slowly when they shared location.

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