The Signs of a Savant: Language Against the Odds

by Neil Smith , Ianthi Tsimpli , Gary Morgan , Bencie Woll

• ISBN13: 9780521852272
• ISBN10: 0521852277
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-17
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Every once in a while nature gives us insight into the human condition by providing us with a unique case whose special properties illuminate the species as a whole. Christopher is such an example. Despite disabilities which mean that everyday tasks are burdensome chores, Christopher is a linguistic wonder who can read, write, speak, understand and translate more than twenty languages. On some tests he shows a severely low IQ, hinting at ineducability, yet his English language ability indicates an IQ in excess of 120 (a level more than sufficient to enter university). Christopher is a savant, someone with an island of startling talent in a sea of inability. This book documents his learning of British Sign Language, casting light on the modularity of cognition, the modality neutrality of the language faculty, the structure of memory, the grammar of signed language and the nature of the human mind.

Author Biography

Neil Smith is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at University College London. Ianthi Tsimpli is Professor of Psycholinguistics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Gary Morgan is Professor of Psychology at City University London. Bencie Woll is Director of the Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London.

Table of Contents

Figures	p. x
Tables	p. xii
Preface	p. xiii
Introducing Christopher	p. 1
Personal background	p. 1
Psychological profile	p. 2
Medical background	p. 4
Autism and perspective	p. 5
Apraxia and the visuo-spatial	p. 6
Theoretical background	p. 8
Memory	p. 8
Modularity and modality	p. 18
The language faculty	p. 21
Principles and parameters	p. 22
Morphology as an interface	p. 24
Theory of mind	p. 25
False belief and the language faculty	p. 25
Theory of intelligence and the executive	p. 27
Central coherence	p. 29
Relevance, and Christopher's pragmatic ability	p. 32
Linguistic processing problems	p. 34
L1A versus L2A	p. 36
Christopher's English	p. 36
Christopher's 'second' languages: lexicon-syntax asymmetry	p. 37
Inhibition and weak central coherence	p. 38
Summary and predictions	p. 40
British Sign Language: An overview	p. 43
Introduction	p. 43
Sign languages as natural languages	p. 44
Sign space	p. 47
Phonology: the lexicon	p. 49
Modality effects	p. 53
Iconicity in the sign lexicon	p. 55
A preliminary model	p. 58
Morpho-syntax	p. 62
Word-order and topicalisation	p. 62
Negation, questions and facial action	p. 65
Negation	p. 65
Questions	p. 67
Subject-object agreement	p. 68
Classifiers and topographic space	p. 70
Classifiers in spoken languages	p. 70
Classifiers in signed languages	p. 71
Parallels between classifiers in spoken and signed languages	p. 74
Cross-modality effects: space, gesture and iconicity	p. 75
Conclusions	p. 75
The programme	p. 77
Preliminaries	p. 77
Methodology of data presentation and analysis	p. 77
Iconicity	p. 78
The curriculum and other interactions	p. 79
Christopher and the comparator group	p. 80
Rationale for the selection of BSL phenomena	p. 81
Specific predictions about BSL learning in the two groups	p. 82
The results	p. 84
Introduction	p. 84
Overview of Christopher's BSL learning	p. 84
Non-verbal communication, gesture and iconicity	p. 86
Lexical development	p. 92
Morpho-syntax	p. 96
Word-order	p. 96
The face: negation and questions	p. 99
Negation	p. 99
Questions	p. 109
Sign space and verb agreement	p. 115
Classifiers	p. 122
Further tests	p. 130
Summary and conclusions	p. 137
Christopher in the wider context	p. 140
Introduction: dissociations revisited	p. 140
Aphasic signers	p. 140
Background: unimpaired signers	p. 140
Signers with stroke	p. 141
Sign versus gesture: Charles	p. 142
Robert	p. 143
Autistic signers	p. 145
Heather	p. 146
Bilingual twins with Down Syndrome	p. 149
Daniel Tammet	p. 151
Conclusions	p. 152
Modality and the mind	p. 153
Introduction	p. 153
Modality effects	p. 153
Articulation	p. 153
Simultaneity (the non-concatenative nature of BSL)	p. 155
Iconicity	p. 156
Orthography	p. 156
Deixis in English and BSL: apraxia revisited	p. 157
Space, syntax and pragmatics	p. 159
Classifiers revisited	p. 160
Facial action, intonation and morpho-phonology	p. 161
A model of the mind	p. 162
The framework	p. 163
Exemplification	p. 177
Conclusions	p. 182
Neuropsychology and linguistic talent	p. 182
Modularity, modality and mind	p. 182
Appendices
Stroop tests	p. 185
List of example signs used in vocabulary tests in comprehension and production	p. 190
Notes	p. 191
References	p. 197
Index	p. 214
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