Project description
Understanding what shapes the grammar of sign languages
There are over 6 000 languages around the world, including over 100 sign languages. The grammars of the world’s languages can vary significantly, while also sharing many similarities. However, what shapes these similarities and differences remains unexplained. The EU-funded SignMorph project will attempt to answer this question by investigating the grammar of sign languages in different signing communities. The project will look at how sign language grammar is influenced by factors such as iconicity (the relationship between language form and meaning), processes of language change over time, and the social structure of signing communities (including varying ages of sign language acquisition and varying social network ties between signers of different backgrounds).
Objective
SignMorph aims to address two of the most fundamental questions in the language sciences: how much do the languages of the world resemble each other and how do they differ, and what factors account for both the cross-linguistic similarities and the differences? SignMorph will provide answers to these questions about the nature of human language through a focus on the sign languages of deaf communities. This project will also be the first to focus on key aspects of the grammar across three distinct subtypes of signing communities: (1) established macro-community sign languages used across an entire national deaf community, (2) established micro-community sign languages which are languages in smaller communities within a nation state, and (3) emerging sign languages which are sign languages that have only begun to emerge in the late 20th century. The driving research question is: sign languages are natural languages, but what kind of languages are they? SignMorph aims to better understand similarities and differences in the grammar of sign languages, and how these are shaped by language-internal and language-external factors. The factors to be investigated in the study include (1) the role of iconicity in mapping grammatical meanings onto form, (2) the relatively recent emergence of sign languages, and how their short history has impacted on the processes which create grammatical structure, and (3) the sociolinguistic structure of signing communities, particular the effect of the large proportion of child to child (rather than parent to child) transmission of sign languages, varying ages of first language acquisition, and variation in interaction individuals have with native signers through their social networks. The study of this distinctive combination of characteristics in sign languages means that this project will make a vital contribution to an understanding the human language capacity more generally.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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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.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2019-ADG
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B15 2TT Birmingham
United Kingdom
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