This page is simply at the "notes" stage. It is not complete.
Why is it that native Deaf people have a seemingly instinctual feel for whether
an emerging sign is appropriate or not?
This page will explore some of the reasons behind "DEAF GUT" as applied to
neologisms and protologisms:
1. Ergonomics: The term "ergonomics" is derived from two Greek words: "ergon",
meaning work and "nomoi", meaning natural laws. Ergonomists study human
capabilities in relationship to work demands, (source: ergonomics.org
3/27/2010). The "ergonomics of signing" has to do with the degree of stress
signing places on a signer's body. Each sign has an "ergonomic factor" which is
the degree to which the production of that sign causes pain or discomfort.
2. Discordance
------------------------
Notes to be developed:
* broad spectrum awareness: (That seat is taken)
* neurolinguistics (ex:
shoe store / food store / head pat / belly rub / dominance condition)
* conditioned responses (rattle snake)
* efficiency principle: "birthday vs birth-day"
Notes:
* It isn't just "zeitgeist!" Exploring The "REAL" reason for avoidance of
initialization...
It comes down to "exposure." Native language
speakers have had thousands of hours of language exposure which have formed
a vast mental database of "references." These references form patterns of
language usage against which new language samples are compared for
similarities and differences. A new language sample that deviates too far
from standard language samples is instantly recognized as "not fitting in"
or not belonging. Conversely, proposed language samples (newly coined
words -- "protologisms") may be rejected for being "too similar" to existing
language samples. For example, the "book on face" protologism for
"Facebook" is very similar to signs such as "KNOW-(casual),"
"don't-KNOW-(casual)," "SEEM/mirror," "TOBACCO," etc. A native signer is
aware of all these existing signs on a subconscious level (and, upon
thinking about it, on a conscious level) and thus feels conflicted about
assigning a new reference to an existing "database entry." [See: minimal pairs = overlapping of 3
parameters]
Contrast this with the "limited" language exposure of non-native signers. A
non-native signer is more likely to be unaware of the full range of existing
signs competing with the protologism. For example, an advanced ASL student
is unlikely to know the sign for "tobacco." A signing novice will not
experience a subconscious conflict regarding the overlapping characteristics
(handshape, location, palm orientation, number of holds) of the new sign
"FACEBOOK-["book on face"]" and those of of existing but lesser known signs
such as the sign "TOBACCO." Lacking this sense of conflict, the novice
signer simply assumes that the native signer is being "stubborn" or "old
fashioned" by not accepting this new sign.