Nicaraguan Sign Language
Spoken in
- Sign Language Nicaraguan Sign Language
-
Sgn
Ncs
The Idioma de Signos Nicaragüense (ISN; span for, Nicaraguan Sign Language ') is a sign language used in Nicaragua. The late 1970s to the mid-1980s it was developed there by deaf school children spontaneously. This language is of particular interest for linguists, as it offers the opportunity to study the emergence of a new language.
History
Before the 1970s, deaf hardly met in Nicaragua. They lived largely isolated from each other and used simple gestures and gestures to communicate with their families and friends.
Only in 1977 created conditions, as they are for the development of a language is necessary, as a special education center in San Judas, a district of Managua, a training program initiated, participated in the first 50 young deaf people. Until 1979, when the Sandinistas came to power, the number of students increased to 100 in 1980, Villa Libertad, another district of Managua, opened a vocational school for the deaf. 1983 had both schools together 400 students.
Originally, the agreement on spoken Spanish and lipreading, and the use of a manual alphabet was aligned. However, the plan had little success because most of the students were unable to form words in this way. Since they were cut off from their teachers, the students, a system for communication among themselves developed during breaks and in the school bus. It was formed by a combination of gestures and sign language at home developed first a pidgin language (that is, a reduced form of language ) out, which quickly became a creole language (ie a language that originated in a language contact situation from several languages is ) further developed. The first stage of development in the form of a pidgin language was later called Lenguaje de Signos Nicaragüense (LSN) and is still used by the older former students who had already ended at the time of further language development school.
The school staff escaped first, that it developed a language before their eyes. It looked in the gestures of the students only facial expressions and the failure to learn Spanish. Because they did not understand what the students among themselves said they asked for help from the outside. In June 1986, the Ministry of Education of Nicaragua contacted the American linguist Judy Kegl, a specialist in American Sign Language (ASL ). She and other researchers found that the pidginartige language of the older students (LSN) was brought by the younger students on a more complex level, which included the congruence of verbs and a solid grammatical structure. This complex form of sign language is now called Idioma de Signos Nicaragüense ( ISN).
Through articles in Science and other magazines ISN was known about among experts.
Linguistics
For linguists, the development history of ISN is unusual, since it has been developed here a language without a community adult native speakers. Normally, creoles but develop from a pidgin- like mixture (at least) two languages , which in turn are fluent speakers of many. The ISN, however, was developed by a group of young people who had previously only used gestures and not clearly defined gestures.
Some linguists consider this as evidence for the theory of universal grammar, which is a special language development center (LAD, English: language acquisition device) in the human brain are. " The Nicaraguan case is absolutely unique in the history ," says Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct ( German: " The Language Instinct ").
"The Nicaraguan case is absolutely unique in history. We've been able to see how it is did children - not adults - generate language, and we have been able to record it happening in great scientific detail. And it's the first and only time that we've Actually seen a language being created out of thin air. "
"We were able to observe how children - not adults - generate a language, and we were able to record this with great scientific detail. And it is the first and only time that we were able to observe how a language is created out of nothing. "
This is contradicted by William Stokoe, the founder of linguistic research on ASL. He doubts the assertion that ISN had arisen entirely without external influence by the Spanish or by ASL. This was not proven by the present data, but is rather speculative. Only in the first stage of language development, a lack of access to Spanish and ASL is proved in the course, however, there have been numerous opportunities for exchange with other languages. It is also questionable whether the gestures and gestures are really not fixed under -speaking Nicaraguans, and unclear how great is their influence on ISN.
Since 1990, the unique language of the speech community together ISN is also studied by several other researchers, including Ann and Richard Senghas, Marie Coppola and Laura Polich. Although each of them has his own theory about the origin and development of the ISN, so they agree but agree that this phenomenon so far is one of the richest data sources through the development of a language.
Controversies
Since when is it a language?
Science is at odds at what stage of development the ISN can be described as completely out educated language. Marie Coppola According contain the formerly isolated from each other systems of gestural communication that went into the development of ISN, already ingredients that can be described as language.
Judy Kegl other hand, thinks that only the first " generation " of young students have learned a language in after she was confronted with a gestural communication system that was previously developed at an intermediate stage of the older students and have the former confused with a learn -cost language. After that they have learned a language in as rich as any other language too; the subsequent changes are the expected course of events.
Ann Senghas thinks that the further complexity of the ISN was created after their formation by the contributions of young language learners.
Linguistic imperialism / Ethical Controversy
From the beginning of their studies in Nicaragua in 1986 up to the date on which the ISN was well established, it avoided Judy Kegl from other elements introduce their well-known sign languages , especially from the American Sign Language (ASL ). This was contrary to the not unusual, of her as sprachimperialistisch perceived practice that ASL introduce in other countries, often displacing a preexisting sign language. Judy Kegl however, the ISN wanted to investigate and document, without altering or even to replace it. The contact of deaf Nicaraguans with foreign languages was neither deaf promoted or hindered by it. So she was able to document contacts with and influences by speakers of other languages Deaf, which began in the 1990s and still ongoing - just as affect other languages that are in contact.
Some experts bothered by this, as they put it, "Ethics of isolation of Nicaraguan children." The Professor of Philosophy Felicia Ackerman voiced its objections in a letter to The Times; regarding Kegls afraid " to destroy an indigenous language ," she writes: " Obviously, they destroyed prefer the life chances of these children by preventing that they can communicate with the outside world."
Judy Kegl, however, has also procured in collaboration with her husband and their society Nicaraguan Sign Language Projects, Inc. money to establish a school for the deaf on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, which employs only deaf teacher. There are also teachers of other schools for the deaf in Nicaragua are formed. This got quite a few deaf students and teachers the chance to go to the U.S., there to undergo further training; other was the attendance of conferences allows, for example the The Theoretical Issues in Linguistic Research Conference in Amsterdam and the Deaf Way II in Washington, DC.
Literacy
Richard Senghas used 1997, the descriptions " not sprechbar and not writable" in the title of his dissertation to demonstrate the generally customary, erroneous assumption that languages without written form were not full-fledged languages. For this reason, the sign languages is often refused recognition because they are neither spoken nor written. Senghas nevertheless has never claimed that the ISN is not writable, as is often assumed by people who have not previously dealt with sign languages . Since 1996, the ISN is written by Nicaraguans both handwritten and on computers with the help of Signwriting. Currently ISN is sign language with the largest amount of writing available texts.