Relations of language and thought : the view from sign language and deaf children /

Exploring the question of whether growing up deaf and learning a signed rather than a spoken language as one's first language results in different path of cognitive development, this study tackles some of the most basic and important questions in social theory. The authors discuss the interrelatedness of language, thought, and identity, and they do so in a grounded way, with reference to a very specific empirical situation. Both general academic readers and those who specialize in issues revolving around sign languages will find the book valuable. Practical as well theoretical implications are inherent in this domain, and for those responsible for the education of deaf children, one of the most troubling issues is whether a visual-spatial language, i.e., a sign language, can ever be functionally equivalent to a spoken-written language. The themes addressed in this book frame that issue in terms of rational analysis without taking a policy stance. Chapters present and make interesting contributions to several classic debates in language theory--such as the existence of universals that crosscut all languages and the Sapir-Whorf argument about linguistic and cultural constraints on thinking. The work is well integrated and focused, and the authors speak to one another's points. Graduate, faculty. A. Arno; University of Hawaii at Manoa