Lecture
Connecting language learning and language evolution: The creation of a sign language in Nicaragua
August 18, 2022
Languages are highly patterned abstract systems, shared within communities of speakers. Where do their patterns come from, and why are some characteristics apparently universal across languages? The birth of a new, natural human language provides an opportunity to observe how such structure arises. We consider the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL), a young, urban sign language that emerged from within a community of children brought together in an educational setting in the 1970s. Originating in gestural communication among 50 children, NSL is a rich, natural language with over 1500 users today. By taking an apparent time approach, comparing present-day age cohorts, we can capture patterns of change in the linguistic structure of the language as it was transmitted over successive generations of learners. Read More