Understanding Signed Languages provides a broad and accessible introduction to the science of language, with evidence drawn from signed languages around the world. Readers will learn about language through a unique set of signed language studies that will surprise them with the diversity of ways human languages achieve the same functional goals of communication.

Designed for students with no prior knowledge of signed languages or linguistics, this book features:

A comprehensive introduction to the sub-fields of linguistics, including sociolinguistics, linguistic structure, language change, language acquisition, and bilingualism;
Examples from more than 50 of the world’s signed languages and a brief “Language in Community” snapshot in each chapter highlighting one signed language and the researchers who are documenting it;
Opportunities to reflect on how language ideologies have shaped scientific inquiry and contributed to linguistic bias;
Review and discussion questions, useful websites, and pointers to additional readings and resources at the end of each chapter.

Understanding Signed Languages provides instructors with a primary or secondary text to enliven the discourse in introductory classes in linguistics, interpreting, deaf education, disability studies, cognitive science, human diversity, and communication sciences and disorders. Students will develop an appreciation for the language-specific and universal characteristics of signed languages and the global communities in which they emerge.

About the Author

Erin Wilkinson is Professor of Linguistics at the University of New Mexico. She currently serves as co-editor of Sign Language Studies and Cambridge Elements in Sign Languages. Her research is published in Humanity & Society, Cognition, Sign Language Studies, Maternal and Child Health Journal, and Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

Jill P. Morford is Professor of Linguistics at the University of New Mexico. She co-edited the volume Language Acquisition by Eye, and has published in Frontiers in Psychology, Cognition, Cognitive Linguistics, Maternal and Child Health Journal, and Bilingualism: Language and Cognition.

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