Where to look for American Sign Language (ASL) sublexical structure in the visual world: Reply to Salverda (2016)

In this reply to Salverda (2016), we address a critique of the claims made in our recent study of real-time processing of American Sign Language (ASL) signs using a novel visual world eye-tracking paradigm (Lieberman, Borovsky, Hatrak, & Mayberry, 2015). Salverda asserts that our data do not support our conclusion that native signers and late-learning signers show variable patterns of activation in the presence of phonological competitors. We provide a logical rationale for our study design and present a reanalysis of our data using a modified time window, providing additional evidence for our claim. We maintain that target fixation patterns provide an important window into real-time processing of sign language. We conclude that the use of eye-tracking methods to study real-time processing in a visually perceived language such as ASL is a promising avenue for further exploration. (PsycINFO Database Record