Abstract:

This paper deals with the presentation of the actual results of the research carried out, from which some conclusions can be used for the theoretical and didactic aspects of teaching the Czech Sign Language (CSL). National sign languages of the Deaf are for more than 50 years considered by linguists as natural languages. The term “sign language” collectively belongs, in expert literature, to various non-vocal language systems used by the majority deaf communities of various nationalities. Sign languages differ from vocal spoken languages, in particular, by the mode of their existence (unlike audio-oral spoken languages, sign languages are of the visual-motor nature). When the personality of a hearing-impaired child is formed, the sign language plays an irreplaceable role in the search for the child’s identity. With regard to the presence of hearing impairment, it can be supposed that a deaf child will most likely meet and make social contacts with other deaf people.

A multidisciplinary research project entitled “The Theoretical Basis for Teaching Czech Sign Language Tested through Quantitative Linguistic Methods”, funded by the Czech Science Foundation has been solved by researchers from three faculties of Palacký University in Olomouc (Czech Republic). It assumes that a deeper linguistic analysis of CSL (especially its hierarchical phoneme structure), obtained through quantitative linguistic methods, will contribute to the development of theoretical and practical education of CSL. Our task is to validate quantitative linguistic methods and analysis of the relationships between language levels in the sign language.

31 speeches in CSL (approximately 10 minutes long) have been recorded from various respondents (older than 15 years of age with different kinds and levels of education, different ages, social status and both gender groups). For the annotation and segmentation of research data the application ELAN language annotator, which enables to synchronize the coding transcription record with the dynamic video material, was used. In this application, it is possible to define the lengths of individual constituents using the timeline, including the addition of possible annotation notes. To inspect the quality of the relationship of language units on the succeeding two levels, we decided to test it by means of checking the manifestation of Menzerath-Altmann law (MAL). First, we mined the data from the quantified CSL texts. We specifically obtained the relationship between sentences (constructs) and clauses (constituents). Furthermore, we also obtained the relationship between clauses (this time, constructs) and signs (constituents).

Due to the simultaneous character of the manual signs (as mentioned above), one of the most challenging tasks is to develop a method of counting the length of signs (the number of constituents). We consequently conducted a study aimed at detecting the dependence between the number of sign morphemes, their belonging to defined motion matrices and the assessment of their complexity by the users. Some results that can be used in didactics and teaching of the Czech sign language were identified.

Keywords:

Czech sign language, quantitative linguistics, education, deaf.