Language Aquisition

• Sign languages are equal in status to spoken languages.  

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities CRPD Article 2

According to the Annual Review of Linguistics, Acquisition of Sign Languages. Diane Lillo-Martin and Jonathan Henner, Natural sign languages are acquired on the same timescale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers from birth. 

Abstract:  Natural sign languages of deaf communities are acquired on the same timescale as that of spoken languages if children have access to fluent signers providing input from birth. Infants are sensitive to linguistic information provided visually, and early milestones show many parallels. The modality may affect various areas of language acquisition; such effects include the form of signs (sign phonology), the potential advantage presented by visual iconicity, and the use of spatial locations to represent referents, locations, and movement events. Unfortunately, the vast majority of deaf children do not receive accessible linguistic input in infancy, and these children experience language deprivation. Negative effects on language are observed when first language acquisition is delayed. For those who eventually begin to learn a sign language, earlier input is associated with better language and academic outcomes. Further research is especially needed with a broader diversity of participants. 

Deaf children who are not provided with a sign language early in their development  are  at  risk  of  linguistic  deprivation. Avoiding linguistic neglect of deaf children Humphries et al. 2016. 

Abstract: Deaf children who are not provided with a sign language early in their development  are  at  risk  of  linguistic  deprivation;  they  may  never  be fluent  in  any language, and they may have deficits in cognitive activities that rely on a firm foundation in a first language. These children are socially and emotionally isolated. Deafness makes a child vulnerable to abuse, and linguistic deprivation compounds the abuse  because  the  child  is  less  able  to  report  it.  Parents  rely  on  professionals  as guides  in  making  responsible  choices  in  raising  and  educating  their  deaf  children. But lack of expertise on language acquisition and overreliance on access to speech often result in professionals not recommending that the child be taught a sign language or, worse, that the child be denied sign language. We recommend action that those in the social welfare services can implement immediately to help protect the health  of  deaf  children. 

• Governments are required to recognize and support specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and Deaf culture. 

CRPD, Article 30.4  (participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport)

Deaf children who have access to their language in school and out of school will acquire language in a formal and informal setting. This allows deaf children to be exposed to various topics. Hearing children acquire language and information from a variety of sources. Deaf children usually are not given the same opportunities.

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