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From:
"Angus B. Grieve-Smith" Date: Mon Oct 4, 1999 10:09 pm Subject: Re: Questions & Answers | ||||||||
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On Mon, 4 Oct 1999, Valerie Sutton wrote: > I thought I would share my answers with you. If you have anything to > add, I would love your feedback... [...] > Signed languages are as old as history. They are not new languages > recently invented. Like spoken languages, they developed naturally. I'm not sure I agree with this, Valerie. Remember that Judy and James Shepherd-Kegl have seen a new sign language, Nicaraguan Sign Language, come into existence. My understanding is that it wasn't actually invented, but still came into existence as a result of Sandinista educational policy. Some languages are clearly much older, but I would guess that there's a certain critical mass of Deaf people necessary for a signed language to be born. I like the rest of your answers, though. -- Angus B. Grieve-Smith Linguistics Department The University of New Mexico | ||||||||
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