Sehyr, ZS; Cormier, K; (2016) Perceptual categorization of handling handshapes in British Sign Language. Language and Cognition , 8 (4) pp. 501-532. 10.1017/langcog.2015.4.

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Abstract

Sign languages like British Sign Language (BSL) include a type of partially lexicalized construction which depicts handling or manipulation of objects. Object sizes gradiently vary, yet it is unclear if handling handshapes depict object handling in a categorical or gradient manner. The study examines whether deaf BSL signers perceive handling handshapes continuously or categorically, compared with hearing non-signers, and how sign language experience affects perception of handshapes in these partially lexicalized sign language constructions. Deaf signers and hearing non-signers completed handshape identification and discrimination tasks. The results revealed similar binary categorization of dynamically presented handling handshapes in both groups. Both groups displayed elevated discrimination accuracy on the category boundary and good within-category discrimination. However, RTs revealed critical differences between groups in processing times in the identification and discrimination tasks; RTs in the deaf group reflected increased sensitivity to category boundaries suggesting that perception can be influenced by sign language experience. Furthermore, variability within a category influenced deaf signers’ discrimination in a manner that suggested graded category structure, with handshape prototype grounding the category. These findings provide an insight into the internal organization of handling handshapes and highlight the complex relationship between sign language, cognition, and gesture.

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