Project description
Understanding silent speech in sign language
Despite the growing recognition of sign languages, many features remain underexplored. One of these is how elements of spoken language appear during signing. In Polish Sign Language (PJM), signers often silently mouth words from spoken Polish, a phenomenon known as mouthing. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MOST project investigates how mouthing works in PJM, its structure, role in communication, and its links to Polish grammar. Combining linguistic analysis and cognitive experiments, the research aims to reveal whether mouthing patterns in PJM reflect the complex inflectional system of Polish. This is rarely seen in other sign languages. The findings will deepen our understanding of cross-modal language contact and support efforts towards greater inclusivity and accessibility for sign language users.
Objective
The MOST project (Mouthing in PJM under Observation: Structure and Typology) investigates the use of mouthing in Polish Sign Language (PJM), focusing on its structure, functions, and typology within the context of PJM’s contact with spoken Polish. Mouthing is a cross-modal language contact phenomenon where elements of spoken words are articulated alongside manual signs during signing. The project aims to fill two significant research gaps: (1) the lack of a systematic description of mouthing in PJM, especially given the inflectional morphology of spoken Polish, and (2) the limited typological understanding of mouthing across sign languages. The project hypothesizes that mouthing in PJM is influenced by Polish morphology, potentially resulting in inflected mouthing patterns not observed in other sign languages, contributing to language processing and comprehension.
MOST will be carried out through two interconnected studies: a corpus-based study to describe the overall properties of mouthing in PJM, focusing on usage patterns, functions, and sociolinguistic factors; and an experimental study to test how mouthing aids language comprehension by reducing cognitive load. Both approaches will allow for a detailed investigation of mouthing’s functions in PJM. Project results will be compared with existing research on mouthing in other sign languages to expand the typological landscape of mouthing in sign languages globally. By bridging corpus-based and psycholinguistic approaches, MOST offers a unique perspective on the interaction between signed and spoken languages, enhancing our understanding of language contact phenomena.
Conducted at University College London with a secondment at the University of Bergen, the project aligns with the European Commission’s priority of promoting social fairness and inclusion by contributing to the understanding of minority languages, improving accessibility, and fostering inclusive communication.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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WC1E 6BT London
United Kingdom
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