Abstract:

Sign languages provide a unique window into how form and meaning can be linked through iconic mappings between linguistic structure and human experience. In this talk, I explore how iconicity shapes language across different domains in sign language. First, I discuss iconicity at the lexical level and how it influences the learning and production of signs across different populations, including early and late signers, hearing learners of sign language, and signers with aphasia. I then turn to spatial language, where iconic mappings interact with spatial cognition and show different effects across spatial relations and across native and late learners. Together, these findings illustrate the multiple roles iconicity plays in language learning and spatial communication.

You can also attend this seminar online via this link: 

https://uva-live.zoom.us/j/3687614509