Language evolution and natural order of words: reversible and non-reversible verbs in São Tomé and Príncipe Sign Language in a pilot study
Abstract
Research on language evolution has recently focused on the issue of natural word order, that is, word order in the phylogenetic and cognitive sense (Pagel 2009; Gell-Mann and Ruhlen 2011). Sign language and gesture studies have inspired this discussion in the literature, with special emphasis on the seminal study by Goldin-Meadow and colleagues (2008). The results of this study revealed that participants tend to produce SVO and SOV word order, regardless of the syntax of their native language. This finding has been corroborated in later studies (Gibson et al. 2013; Hall et al. 2013; Sandler et al. 2005). Our study aims to verify if there is dominant word order, or not, in linguistic emergence of Sign Language of São Tomé and Príncipe.
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