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John D. Bonvillian | |
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Born | John Doughty Bonvillian September 4, 1948 Caldwell, Idaho, U.S. |
Died | May 8, 2018 69) | (aged
Alma mater | Stanford University |
John D. Bonvillian (1948-2018) [1] was a psychologist and associate professor - emeritus in the Department of Psychology and the Interdepartmental Program in Linguistics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. [2] He is the principal developer of Simplified Signs, [3] a manual sign communication system designed to be easy to form, easy to understand and easy to remember. He is also known for his research contributions to the study of sign language, child development, psycholinguistics, and language acquisition.
Bonvillian received a B.A. in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University in 1970. While an undergraduate there, he was introduced to the field of child development by Mary D. S. Ainsworth and to psycholinguistics by James E. Deese. He then attended Stanford University on a National Science Foundation doctoral fellowship, earning his Ph.D. in 1974. [4] As a graduate student, he worked primarily with Keith E. Nelson as they conducted studies on child language acquisition in typically developing children and children with disabilities. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Some of this work was later reprinted in other publications. [18] [19] [20] He also wrote several articles examining the impact of maternal language input and other behaviors on a child's subsequent development. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] During his time at Stanford, John met William C. Stokoe, a pioneering figure in sign language research. Subsequently, the two were to work together editing the journal, Sign Language Studies. [26] In 1974, Bonvillian accepted an appointment as an assistant professor at Vassar College. In 1978, he was invited to join the faculty at the University of Virginia, where he was reunited as a colleague with his former professors, Ainsworth and Deese, who had previously accepted appointments at Virginia. He taught at UVA until his retirement in May 2015. He died on May 8, 2018, at the age of 69. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]
In 1979, Bonvillian commenced the first of two longitudinal studies of sign language acquisition in young children with deaf parents. [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] These studies (conducted primarily with Michael D. Orlansky and Raymond J. Folven) were to provide valuable information on the course of American Sign Language (ASL) acquisition. [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] Their research found that the patterns with which children developed proficiency in ASL was highly similar to the patterns with which children acquired spoken language skills. While the pattern of acquisition was similar across language modalities, many of the sign-learning children attained different language milestones in ASL earlier than their hearing counterparts attained these same milestones in spoken English (see the discussion of Baby sign language). These studies also provided information on how young children learn to form ASL signs. More specifically, these data enabled Bonvillian (with Theodore Siedlecki) to develop an account of sign language phonological acquisition. [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] Bonvillian also conducted investigations into the use of manual signs to facilitate communication in minimally verbal or non-speaking children and adults, such as persons with aphasia or an intellectual disability. [55] [56] [57] In particular, he conducted a number of studies of sign language acquisition in children with autism. [58] [59] [60] In the 1990s, Bonvillian (with Brenda Seal) examined sign formation difficulties in children with autism. [61] This study made it clear that for manual signs to be used easily by children with autism, then the signs should consist of a single movement and be composed of a limited number of basic or unmarked handshapes. [62] [63] [64] Over his career, Bonvillian contributed multiple articles and chapters on sign language, sign language acquisition, and sign language development to various encyclopedias, textbooks, and other forums focused on language development, child development, and/or various aspects of deafness. [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] He also wrote multiple reviews of books that were focused on these research areas as well as on language development in special populations. [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] [90]
In addition to word recall in deaf and hearing students being the topic of his dissertation, Bonvillian continued to perform a series of investigations into strategies or factors that improve (or inhibit) deaf persons’ and hearing persons’ recall of ASL signs and/or English words that had been presented to them. [91] [92] [93] In one study, deaf students who performed the sign language equivalent of each English word in a list remembered more words than those deaf students using other recall strategies; English words rated higher in imagery value also were recalled more often than words with low-imagery values. [94] In a sign recall study involving hearing persons previously unfamiliar with American Sign Language, different recall methods were encouraged in each of three experimental conditions; the condition in which the etymology or origin of a sign was provided along with its English translation equivalent resulted in better long-term sign retention. [95]
Bonvillian wrote a review of The Education of Koko by Francine Patterson and Eugene Linden in 1982. [96] Bonvillian and Patterson had known each other at Stanford University and had worked together with Koko the gorilla. They also had written an article on mother and peer attachment in rhesus monkeys in 1975. [97] They later published several articles in the 1990s on the sign language acquisition of gorillas in comparison with that of the young signing children of Deaf parents, noting both the similarities and differences between the sign language development of the two groups. [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] Bonvillian and Patterson also penned a short article on approaches to ape language research. [103] Bonvillian was a supporting member of the Gorilla Foundation.
Another recurring topic in Bonvillian's research was the issue of hand preference in deaf persons, signing children of Deaf parents (whether the children were deaf or hearing), and persons with autism. Since sign languages are based on the visual-manual modality of communication (rather than the auditory-vocal modality of spoken languages), Bonvillian wondered whether individuals exposed to signing from birth (because they had one or two signing Deaf parents) showed different handedness patterns than hearing individuals not exposed to signing from birth. He was also interested in whether such persons’ hand preference varied depending on whether their manual activity was for signing or was non-sign in nature (i.e., object actions, general communicative gestures, or other manual actions). The studies of the signing children of Deaf parents showed that they had a stronger hand preference (typically for the right hand) for their manual signing activity than they showed for non-sign communicative gestures and object actions. [104] [105] [106] [107] In contrast, sign-learning students with autism did not display as strong of a hand preference in their signing activity. [108] An earlier study of handedness patterns in deaf high-school and college students also showed a higher incidence of left-handedness, and that left-handed students tended to have been exposed to signing at a later age than those deaf students who preferred using their right hand. [109]
Bonvillian, who had always maintained a strong interest in and personal passion for history, investigated the use of manual signs and gestures by hearing persons in various historical contexts. In particular, he focused on the use of manual signs and gestures during early contact situations between Europeans and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. He approached this latter task in a systematic manner by examining the first-hand written accounts and journals of voyagers who travelled to the “New World” in search of riches (see, for example, his peer-reviewed article on Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, as well as the second chapter of his book Simplified Signs, Volume 1). [110] [111] He also researched and published work on the voyages of Martin Frobisher to Baffin Island and the Englishman's resulting interactions with the Inuit. [112] Of special interest to Bonvillian was the pre-existing use of various manual sign-communication systems in and among the various Indigenous nations of North America before the arrival of Europeans (in particular, the use of Plains Indian Sign Language as a lingua franca between Indigenous nations whose spoken languages were mutually incomprehensible). Bonvillian also was curious about the origins of language in humans and the possibility that gesture preceded speech as a communication system. [113] [114]
In 1998, Bonvillian began work on developing a simplified, manual sign-communication system. The initial focus of this project was to develop a sign-communication system for non-speaking or minimally verbal individuals, such as children with autism, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy. At the time of his death, Bonvillian's research team had developed a Simplified Sign System lexicon consisting of approximately 1850 easily formed, highly iconic signs or gestures. This increase in the size of sign vocabulary was undertaken to meet the needs of students and teachers who wanted to use Simplified Signs to facilitate the acquisition of foreign language vocabulary items. Research suggests that by performing highly iconic Simplified Signs with to-be-learned foreign language vocabulary items, students are able to internalize items into their memories more quickly and effectively. [115] The first 1000 signs of the Simplified Sign System were published on July 30, 2020, by Open Book Publishers in Cambridge, U.K. [3]
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.
Sign languages are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign languages are full-fledged natural languages with their own grammar and lexicon. Sign languages are not universal and are usually not mutually intelligible, although there are also similarities among different sign languages.
International Sign (IS) is a pidgin sign language which is used in a variety of different contexts, particularly as an international auxiliary language at meetings such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) congress, in some European Union settings, and at some UN conferences, at events such as the Deaflympics, the Miss & Mister Deaf World, and Eurovision, and informally when travelling and socialising.
Baby sign language is the use of manual signing allowing infants and toddlers to communicate emotions, desires, and objects prior to spoken language development. With guidance and encouragement signing develops from a natural stage in infant development known as gesture. These gestures are taught in conjunction with speech to hearing children, and are not the same as a sign language. Some common benefits that have been found through the use of baby sign programs include an increased parent-child bond and communication, decreased frustration, and improved self-esteem for both the parent and child. Researchers have found that baby sign neither benefits nor harms the language development of infants. Promotional products and ease of information access have increased the attention that baby sign receives, making it pertinent that caregivers become educated before making the decision to use baby sign.
Lip reading, also known as speechreading, is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue when normal sound is not available. It relies also on information provided by the context, knowledge of the language, and any residual hearing. Although lip reading is used most extensively by deaf and hard-of-hearing people, most people with normal hearing process some speech information from sight of the moving mouth.
Babbling is a stage in child development and a state in language acquisition during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering articulate sounds, but does not yet produce any recognizable words. Babbling begins shortly after birth and progresses through several stages as the infant's repertoire of sounds expands and vocalizations become more speech-like. Infants typically begin to produce recognizable words when they are around 12 months of age, though babbling may continue for some time afterward.
Signing Exact English is a system of manual communication that strives to be an exact representation of English language vocabulary and grammar. It is one of a number of such systems in use in English-speaking countries. It is related to Seeing Essential English (SEE-I), a manual sign system created in 1945, based on the morphemes of English words. SEE-II models much of its sign vocabulary from American Sign Language (ASL), but modifies the handshapes used in ASL in order to use the handshape of the first letter of the corresponding English word.
Oralism is the education of deaf students through oral language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech. Oralism came into popular use in the United States around the late 1860s. In 1867, the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts, was the first school to start teaching in this manner. Oralism and its contrast, manualism, manifest differently in deaf education and are a source of controversy for involved communities. Oralism should not be confused with Listening and Spoken Language, a technique for teaching deaf children that emphasizes the child's perception of auditory signals from hearing aids or cochlear implants.
The recorded history of sign language in Western societies starts in the 17th century, as a visual language or method of communication, although references to forms of communication using hand gestures date back as far as 5th century BC Greece. Sign language is composed of a system of conventional gestures, mimic, hand signs and finger spelling, plus the use of hand positions to represent the letters of the alphabet. Signs can also represent complete ideas or phrases, not only individual words.
Home sign is a gestural communication system, often invented spontaneously by a deaf child who lacks accessible linguistic input. Home sign systems often arise in families where a deaf child is raised by hearing parents and is isolated from the Deaf community. Because the deaf child does not receive signed or spoken language input, these children are referred to as linguistically isolated.
Simultaneous communication, SimCom, or sign supported speech (SSS) is a technique sometimes used by deaf, hard-of-hearing or hearing sign language users in which both a spoken language and a manual variant of that language are used simultaneously. While the idea of communicating using two modes of language seems ideal in a hearing/deaf setting, in practice the two languages are rarely relayed perfectly. Often the native language of the user is the language that is strongest, while the non-native language degrades in clarity. In an educational environment this is particularly difficult for deaf children as a majority of teachers who teach the deaf are hearing. Results from surveys taken indicate that communication for students is indeed signing, and that the signing leans more toward English rather than ASL.
Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) is the predominant sign language in the subcontinent of South Asia, used by at least 15 million deaf signers. As with many sign languages, it is difficult to estimate numbers with any certainty, as the Census of India does not list sign languages and most studies have focused on the north and urban areas. As of 2021, it is the most used sign language in the world, and Ethnologue ranks it as the 151st most "spoken" language in the world.
Bilingual–Bicultural or Bi-Bi deaf education programs use sign language as the native, or first, language of Deaf children. In the United States, for example, Bi-Bi proponents claim that American Sign Language (ASL) should be the natural first language for deaf children in the United States, although the majority of deaf and hard of hearing being born to hearing parents. In this same vein, the spoken or written language used by the majority of the population is viewed as a secondary language to be acquired either after or at the same time as the native language.
Catalan Sign Language is a sign language used by around 18,000 people in different areas of Spain including Barcelona and Catalonia. As of 2012, the Catalan Federation for the Deaf estimates 25,000 LSC signers and roughly 12,000 deaf people around the Catalan lands. It has about 50% intelligibility with Spanish Sign Language (LSE). On the basis of mutual intelligibility, lexicon, and social attitudes, linguists have argued that LSC and LSE are distinct languages.
Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help students achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency and success in the school and community than they would achieve with a typical classroom education. There are different language modalities used in educational setting where students get varied communication methods. A number of countries focus on training teachers to teach deaf students with a variety of approaches and have organizations to aid deaf students.
Susan Goldin-Meadow is the Beardsley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Psychology, Comparative Human Development, the college, and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago. She is the principal investigator of a 10-year program project grant, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, designed to explore the impact of environmental and biological variation on language growth. She is also a co-PI of the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC), one of six Science of Learning Centers funded by the National Science Foundation to explore learning in an interdisciplinary framework with an eye toward theory and application. She is the founding editor of Language Learning and Development, the official journal of the Society for Language Development. She was President of the International Society for Gesture Studies from 2007–2012.
Manual babbling is a linguistic phenomenon that has been observed in deaf children and hearing children born to deaf parents who have been exposed to sign language. Manual babbles are characterized by repetitive movements that are confined to a limited area in front of the body similar to the sign-phonetic space used in sign languages. In their 1991 paper, Pettito and Marentette concluded that between 40% and 70% of deaf children's manual activity can be classified as manual babbling, whereas manual babbling accounts for less than 10% of hearing children’s manual activity. Manual Babbling appears in both deaf and hearing children learning American Sign Language from 6 to 14 months old.
Language acquisition is a natural process in which infants and children develop proficiency in the first language or languages that they are exposed to. The process of language acquisition is varied among deaf children. Deaf children born to deaf parents are typically exposed to a sign language at birth and their language acquisition follows a typical developmental timeline. However, at least 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who use a spoken language at home. Hearing loss prevents many deaf children from hearing spoken language to the degree necessary for language acquisition. For many deaf children, language acquisition is delayed until the time that they are exposed to a sign language or until they begin using amplification devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. Deaf children who experience delayed language acquisition, sometimes called language deprivation, are at risk for lower language and cognitive outcomes. However, profoundly deaf children who receive cochlear implants and auditory habilitation early in life often achieve expressive and receptive language skills within the norms of their hearing peers; age at implantation is strongly and positively correlated with speech recognition ability. Early access to language through signed language or technology have both been shown to prepare children who are deaf to achieve fluency in literacy skills.
Language deprivation in deaf and hard-of-hearing children is a delay in language development that occurs when sufficient exposure to language, spoken or signed, is not provided in the first few years of a deaf or hard of hearing child's life, often called the critical or sensitive period. Early intervention, parental involvement, and other resources all work to prevent language deprivation. Children who experience limited access to language—spoken or signed—may not develop the necessary skills to successfully assimilate into the academic learning environment. There are various educational approaches for teaching deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Decisions about language instruction is dependent upon a number of factors including extent of hearing loss, availability of programs, and family dynamics.
Pointing is a gesture specifying a direction from a person's body, usually indicating a location, person, event, thing or idea. It typically is formed by extending the arm, hand, and index finger, although it may be functionally similar to other hand gestures. Types of pointing may be subdivided according to the intention of the person, as well as by the linguistic function it serves.