Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Modern Languages
Department
Modern Languages
First Advisor
Allison Burkette
Second Advisor
Felice Coles
Third Advisor
Tamara Warhol
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language used by many deaf people in the United States and Canada. For much of its existence, ASL was believed to be a system of rudimentary gestures and signs based on the English language. However, studies that analyzed the linguistic properties of this signed ‘mode’ (Stokoe, 1960) legitimized that it was a language independent of spoken language, with its own system of principles and elements to construct meaningful utterances. Like any language, ASL is influenced by the social demographics of its users. Social demographics such as ethnicity, geographic location, age, gender, and socioeconomic status are elements that cause variation in both spoken and signed languages. ASL is a young language created by a historically marginalized group of individuals as a way to communicate thoughts and ideas in a society designed on the ability to hear. As such, ASL was recognized as an autonomous language and has been the subject of sociolinguistic research since the 1960s. Most sociolinguistic research in ASL consists of large-scale studies has been conducted in the past 15 to 20 years. No research up to date has been conducted within the geographic boundaries of a state. This pilot study examines phonological and lexical variation of ASL in Mississippi through a series of Atlas-style interviews, and identities age and geographic location as the two most significant social influences that cause variation in Mississippi.
Recommended Citation
Blount, James Corey, "Mississippi ASL Project" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 894.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/894
Concentration/Emphasis
Emphasis: Linguistics