Comprehension benefits of visual-gestural iconicity and spatial referencing

Abstract

Studies have shown that iconicity can provide a benefit to non-signers during the learning of single signs, but other aspects of signed messages that might also be beneficial have received less attention. In particular, do other features of signed languages help support comprehension of a message during the process of language learning? The following exploratory study investigates the comprehension of sentences in two signed and two spoken languages by non-signers and by American Sign Language (ASL) learners. The design allows for the examination of message comprehension, with a comparison of unknown spoken and signed languages. Details of the stimulus sentences are provided in order to contextualize features of the signing that might be providing benefits for comprehension. Included in this analysis are aspects of the sentences that are iconic and spatially deictic – some of which resemble common gestural forms of communication. The results indicate that iconicity and referential points in signed language likely assist with comprehension of sentences, even for non-signers and for a signed language that the ASL signers have not studied.

Human Intelligence and Value of Machine Advancements in Cognitive Science A Design thinking Approach

“…The term "spatial iconicity effect" was created by [23] to describe the observation that while making assessments of semantic relatedness, readers often resort to mental simulations based on the iconic geographical placements of words. In Experiment 1, participants made snap decisions about the degree to which they were semantically related to pairs of terms like "car-road" displayed either in a geographically iconic alignment (car on the screen's top and street on the bottom) or in a noniconic alignment (car on the bottom of the screen and street on the top) (the road is at the top of the screen, and a car is at the bottom).…”