Abstract:Research interest in heritage speakers and their patterns of bilingual development has grown substantially over the last decade, prompting sign language researchers to consider how the concepts of heritage language and heritage speakers apply in the Deaf community. This overview builds on previous proposals that ASL and other natural sign languages qualify as heritage languages for many individuals raised in Deaf, signing families. Specifically, we submit that Codas and Deaf cochlear implant users from Deaf families (DDCI) are heritage signers, parallel to heritage speakers in spoken language communities. We support this proposal by pointing out developmental patterns that are similar across children who are bilingual in a minority home language and a dominant majority language, regardless of modality. This overview also addresses the complex challenge of determining whether unique patterns displayed by heritage speakers/signers in their home language reflect incomplete acquisition, acquisition followed by attrition, or divergent acquisition. The themes summarized in this article serve as an introduction to subsequent papers in this special issue on heritage signers.

中文翻译：

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遗产签名者简介

摘要：在过去十年中，对传统说话者及其双语发展模式的研究兴趣大幅增长，促使手语研究人员考虑如何将传统语言和传统说话者的概念应用于聋人社区。本概述建立在先前的提议之上，即 ASL 和其他自然手语有资格作为许多在聋哑人、手语家庭中长大的人的遗产语言。具体而言，我们认为来自聋人家庭 (DDCI) 的 Codas 和聋人人工耳蜗用户是遗产手语者，与口语社区中的遗产使用者平行。我们通过指出在使用少数族裔家庭语言和占主导地位的多数语言双语的儿童之间的发展模式相似的发展模式来支持这一提议，无论其形式如何。本概述还解决了确定传统说话者/手语者在其母语中显示的独特模式是否反映不完全习得、习得后磨损或发散习得的复杂挑战。本文中总结的主题可作为本期特刊中有关遗产签名者的后续论文的介绍。