In contrary to popular belief that language is not limited to speech, a recent study reveals that people also apply the rules of their spoken language to sign language. She found that responses to these forms shift, depending on their linguistic context."It's not about the stimulus, it's really about the mind, and specifically about the language system," said Berent. Berent's lab shows that our brain detects some deep similarities between speech and sign language.According to Northeastern University, language is not simply about hearing sounds or wholesale 3d signs moving our mouths. The results from this paper confirm what some scientists have long thought, but hasn't truly been grasped by the general public--language is language no matter what format it takes. "These results suggest that our knowledge of language is abstract and amodal. Human brains can grasp the structure of language regardless of whether it is presented in speech or in sign. Washington D.Berent says these findings show that our brains are built to deal with very different types of linguistic inputs.
They disliked doubling for singular objects, but they systematically preferred it if (and only if) doubling signaled plurality. Hebrew speakers showed this preference when doubling signaled a diminutive, in line with the structure of their language. The subjects were English speakers who had no knowledge of a sign language.When our brain is "doing language," it projects abstract structure."This is a significant finding for the deaf community because sign language is their legacy.When a word is presented by itself (or as a name for just one object), people avoid doubling. It defines their identity, and we should all recognize its value.