Matthew Raney
Sun, 17 Sep 2000 14:34:37 -0700
> 1) Although some scientists claim that there is no predisposition for spoken > language (as opposed to gestural) my developmental psych students noticed in > one video of deaf children who were learning to sign, that the children were > vocalizing anyway. he students wondered whether speech might be the brain's > preferred mode of language on the basis of this. I pointed out that hearing > babies move their hands, too, although this doesn't necessarily indicate any > predisposition for gestural language. But I thought I would ask anyway, is > there any definitive answer available regarding the speech versus gestural > language preference in the human brain? Good timing on this question - I just attended a sack lunch last Friday with a hearing-impaired psychologist specializing in work with the hearing-impaired/deaf. I don't know the specific answer to your question, but do recall she indicated that children taught to sign could begin doing so as early as six months, which apparently called for a revolution in the way we conceptualized language development. Her name is Tovah Wax, and I can get her contact information for you, if you like. Take Care, Matt