Sign Language Studies

Abstract:

This study undertook iconicity ratings and conducted transparency experiments on Israeli Sign Language (ISL). Experiment 1 compared the iconicity ratings of 520 lexical signs of ten Deaf ISL signers and thirteen hearing nonsigners. Ratings were found to be affected by language knowledge, lexical class, and type of iconic mapping, as well as by factors less connected to iconicity, such as a sense of familiarity with a form. In experiment 2, twenty nonsigners guessed the meaning of the 520 signs, and the correct guesses were correlated with the iconicity scores. Overall, nonsigners tended to interpret signs as representing actions. The results demonstrated that (1) signers' ratings reflect the diverse semiotic ways that meanings are represented in the lexicon, predictably more so than nonsigners' ratings, and (2) when meanings are not provided, the perception of iconicity is attuned mostly to the movement aspect of the forms. It is recommended that both studies be conducted together in order to achieve a more nuanced picture concerning the perception of iconicity and its role in the lexicon.