Cognitive and linguistic processes of the genesis of sign languages: The Emergence and development of primary sign languages practiced by hearing-impaired people without contact with a hearing-impaired community

Abstract

The linguistic analysis of gestural creations established by hearing impaired individuals who are not part of a deaf community and who live within a hearing environment, are witness to the fact that human beings who do not have direct access to a linguistic model, are capable of constructing on their own a system of global communication that is linguistically organized. This, based on the visual-gestural channel, appears to satisfy the central functions found in human language. This article succinctly traces some basic principles that govern these gestural creations. First, we present certain structural aspects of these linguistic systems, illustrated by examples of a video of a hearing impaired deaf presenter. We then try to elucidate the internal (cognitive processes) and external (social integration and environmental influence) factors that favor the construction of these linguistic systems. Based on a semiogenetic perspective, we demonstrate in what manner these linguistic systems, located in an evolutive framework, can help us to understand the initial process of the formation of sign language communities. At the conclusion of the article we discuss the idea of “creation” of a language.