The ability to speak is one of the essential characteristics that distinguishes humans from other animals. Many people would probably intuitively equate speech and language. However, cognitive science ...

Linguists have long known that sign languages are as grammatically and logically sophisticated as spoken languages—and also make greater use of “iconicity,” the property by which some words refer to ...

Millions of people use sign language, but the methods of teaching this complex and subtle skill haven’t evolved as quickly as those for written and spoken languages. SLAIT School aims to change that ...

Adam Schembri works for La Trobe University, and is a member of the Victorian Auslan Training Consortium. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Before we answer that question, it ...

Along with jet packs and hover boards, a machine to translate from any language to any other is so appealing as a fantasy that people are willing to overlook clunky prototypes as long as they can ...

American Sign Language (ASL), used by half a million Americans, is the fourth most studied foreign language at colleges and universities. Despite its critical role for those who can't use spoken ...

Sign language is a language you express by using your hands and face instead of spoken words. It’s most commonly used by people in the Deaf community. How many types of sign language are there? There ...