Language experience in LSF development: Behavioral evidence from a sentence repetition task.

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Clinical Linguistics
• Sign Language Acquisition

Background:

• The Sentence Repetition Task (SRT) is a validated tool for assessing language abilities in spoken and signed languages.
• Evaluating linguistic development in deaf children using French Sign Language (LSF) requires specialized assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a new SRT for French Sign Language (LSF).
• To investigate the impact of age of sign language acquisition (AOA) and chronological age (CA) on LSF proficiency in deaf children.

Main Methods:

• Developed and administered a 20-sentence LSF SRT to 62 deaf children (native and non-native signers) and 10 adult native signers.
• Analyzed sentence repetition accuracy and types of phonological errors (handshape, movement, location).

Main Results:

• Native signers demonstrated significantly higher accuracy and fewer errors than non-native signers, correlating with earlier AOA and CA.
• Phonological parameters like handshape and movement were the most challenging aspects of LSF repetition.
• AOA was identified as a critical factor in developing phonological skills in LSF.

Conclusions:

• The LSF SRT is a reliable tool for assessing linguistic development in deaf children.
• Early acquisition of LSF is crucial for mastering phonological components and overall language proficiency.
• This study provides foundational insights into the developmental trajectory of LSF, an under-researched sign language.