Analysis of short narratives of deaf adults with delayed acquisition of sign language

Abstract

The language acquisition is influenced by the stimuli that the child receives in their interactions and therefore the accessibility to the language is essential for the adequate development of cognition. The elaboration of specific assessment instruments to investigate the acquisition of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is a demand, considering the small number of Brazilian researchers involved in this area. Language assessment can be done by observing one or several levels of linguistic analysis, cognitive functions or mental state. One way to observe expressive language skills is to analyze narratives. The main objective of this project is to analyze short narratives in Libras, produced by deaf people (i) with language acquisition initiated in propoer period, (ii) delayed language acquisition and (iii) complaints related to the language domain. The activities of this project should be developed at the Deafness, Cognition and Language Center in London under the supervision of Profa. Dr. Bencie Woll. We will analyze 37 samples of short narratives in Libras, available in video format in the database of the Research Group Sign Language and Cognition of the Department of Linguistics of the University of São Paulo. The videos will be analyzed according to the type of analysis proposed by Herman et al. (2004) and the data will be discussed with the DCAL researchers during the analysis and development of the research. As a result, we intend to describe the findings of short narratives in Libras and compare them with the productions of the deaf participants with delayed acquisition of sign language and with language complaints.