Nicaraguan Sign Language as a Realization of the Language Bioprogram

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dc.contributor.advisorHuang, Shizhe
dc.contributor.authorBuyco, Delfin Gerard
dc.date.accessioned2017-02-24T15:53:01Z
dc.date.available2017-02-24T15:53:01Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractThis study compares Nicaraguan Sign Language (ISN) and Hawaiian Creole English (HCE) in order to validate the realization of the Language Bioprogram in environments that lack linguistic input. Bickerton (1981) proposed the existence of such a Bioprogram that acts as a mechanism that gives humans the innate sense of what for a language should take. Some (Kegl & McWhorter, 1997) have argued that sign languages are better candidates for studying the Bioprogram because deaf children are linguistically isolated because of their inability to hear spoken language and often their lack of access to deaf and sign language education. ISN is especially suited for a study about the Language Bioprogram because its de novo emergence in the late 20th century has been documented. In this work, it is hypothesized that if HCE and ISN were both products of the Language Bioprogram, then they should have structural similarities. And overall, there is evidence that ISN and HCE do have similar underlying structures. First, both languages feature SV as the basic word order and allow for topicalization of constituents by moving them to the front of the sentences. Both languages also exhibit similar behavior in terms of relative clauses, in that such clauses are subject to the A-over-A principle as described by Chomsky (1964). Second, both languages make similar basic distinctions with regards to definiteness of NPs, tense, mood, and aspect. Third, both languages feature similar mechanisms for negation, forming interrogatives, and expressing the existential and possessive. There were some supposed Bioprogram parameters that are found in HCE, but not in ISN, but this may be explained by modality-specific effects, environmental and social effects, or language contact. The similarities between HCE and ISN may be further evidence for an innate mechanism common to all humans that sets linguistic parameters. Conversely, the differences between HCE and ISN suggest that social and environmental factors may have lasting effects on cognition and language acquisition.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipSwarthmore College. Dept. of Linguisticsen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10066/19059
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rightsFull copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
dc.titleNicaraguan Sign Language as a Realization of the Language Bioprogramen_US
dc.typeThesis (B.A.)
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