hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2021-12-27

■ #4627. 手話のバイリンガリズム [sign_language][bilingualism][code-switching][gesture][paralinguistics]

　昨日の記事「#4626. 現代の手話研究の成果」 ([2021-12-26-1]) に引き続き，Woll による手話言語学の歴史を参照しながら話題を提供する．手話のバイリンガリズム (bilingualism) に関する洞察とその意義についての1節を読み，非常に刺激的な示唆を得た．一度このような視点を得ると，言語研究も音声言語だけを扱って満足しているわけにはいかず，手話言語 (sign_language) はもちろん，ジェスチャー (gesture) やその他のパラ言語的要素 (paralinguistics) も含めて総合的に考察する必要があることが，よくのみ込めるようになる．
　2つの音声言語が関わるバイリンガリズムについては，ここで解説するまでもなく，よく知られている．code-switching や code-mixing などの現象がしばしば話題となる．しかし，2つの手話言語が関わるバイリンガリズムについては，そのようなバイリンガルの個人や専門家でない限り，ほとんど実態を知る機会はない．さらに，1つの音声言語と1つの手話言語が関わるバイリンガルとなると，そこで何が生じているのか，想像を超える．音声言語と手話言語は文字通りに同時に実現され得るため，code-switching ならぬ "code-blending" を論じる必要があるのだ．すぐに "cross-modal", "multimodal", "multichannel" といったキーワードが思い浮かんでくる．バイリンガリズムの概念が一気に拡張された感があり，圧倒されてしまった．
　参照した Woll (102--03) の1節をそのまま掲載しておきたい．

Until recently, all studies of bilingualism were studies of individuals and communities in which two spoken languages are used. With the development of research on sign languages, it has become clear that bilingualism can exist in two forms: cross-modal (or bimodal) bilingualism and unimodal bilingualism.
   Unimodal bilingualism occurs when either two spoken or two sign languages are used (e.g. Irish and British Sign Language); cross-modal or bimodal bilingualism occurs when the two languages are perceived by different sensory systems and there are two different output channels; they thus exist in different modalities: one signed and one spoken. Recognition of bimodal bilingualism leads to a necessary re-evaluation of models of bilingualism. Cross-modal bilingualism differs from unimodal bilingualism with respect to the temporal sequencing of languages. Bimodal bilinguals often produce code blends, rather than code switches, producing sign and speech simultaneously when in a bilingual mode of communication . . . . Since in unimodal spoken-language bilingualism, just one production system (the vocal tract) is utilized, there is a bottleneck in processing, which has been identified both in behavioural and in neuroimaging studies. For production, this is evident in constraints on serial output: only one utterance can be produced at any one time: selection between two competing languages with respect to the common output path may impose a greater cognitive burden than selection of items within one language. For perception, similar constraints may apply---the speaker's utterances are usually processed through the ear and require serial analysis to be understood. For cross-modal bilinguals, vocal-tract (speech) and manual actions (signing) can---in principle---be processed simultaneously, as they use separate sets of articulators which are seen to be spatially separated. The processing of speech and sign, within a single proficient user of both languages, can therefore offer a unique insight into core language processes . . . .

　自分の馴染みの薄い分野に少し背伸びしてみることは，とても重要だと思った次第．

　・ Woll, Bencie. "The History of Sign Language Linguistics." Chapter 4 of The Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics. Ed. Keith Allan. Oxford: OUP, 2013. 91--104.

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