Deaf Signers Feel Words On the Tip of their Fingers
Memory can be frustrating. No doubt you'll have experienced the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: when despite knowing a particular word (often a name or place), it just won't come out of your mouth. But did you know that deaf people using sign language experience this phenomenon, except in their case the word isn't on the tip-of-the-tongue, but on the tip-of-the-fingers?
A minority of sign language theorists had thought the tip-of-the-fingers state might be unlikely because meaning in sign language (semantics) is much more closely associated with the form of the language (the 'phonology'). For example it appears harder to forget the word for Switzerland in sign language because the sign for it in American Sign Language (and British Sign Language) traces out the white cross on the Swiss flag.
Most theorists don't buy this argument, however, and in work published in Psychological Science by Thompson et al. (2005), researchers found good evidence that deaf signers do experience tip-of-the-fingers states just like speakers. In the research deaf signers were asked to put names to faces, cities and countries. Sure enough signers quite frequently reported knowing the name of the famous person, city or country, but being unable to completely remember the sign.
In fact signers could often remember most of the sign, but not all of it. Individual signs are composed of four different components: the shape of the hands, where the hands are, how they move, and how they are oriented. About half the time signers could remember three of these four components, but the final component eluded them - this was most frequently the movement of the hand(s). This is similar to the experience in spoken language of being able to remember part of a word, or its length, still without being able to retrieve the whole thing.
Theoretically this supports the idea that semantics (meaning) and phonology (the sign) are separate in sign language just as in spoken languages. But the similarities between sign language and spoken languages shouldn't be taken too far. For example American Sign Language is not just a mimed version of English, it has its own syntax and grammar.
Indeed British Sign Language is very different to American Sign Language and, according to QI: The Pocket Book of General Ignorance
» Find out more about the psychology of memory.
[Image credit: sinosplice]
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I'm curious if this same sort of loss of the sign applies to those of us that type frequently as well. If we can lose the sign for something, couldn't we also misplace the memory for keystrokes as we type?
Phonology would not be used for signs as phonology is to do with sounds and as sign language is a visual language then surely to use the term phonology would be incorrect...correct me if I am wrong :/
Also...are these people signing the actual agreed sign or are they fingerspelling it...as many deaf people may struggle with spelling so... the pulling of a face that may look like a tip of the tongue moment, may just be a face that is made through an uncomfortable pressure on trying to recall the correct spelling so to avoid embarrassment... which I experience myself if I am being observed :) lots more things so ask, but I suppose reading more about this may answer some for me :) Interesting article though..
In reply to Rachel:
Phonology refers to a specific field, and there isn't any new term for the word when using a signed language.
I think the article is referring to when a specific sign is forgotten, not finger spelling.
I can never remember the sign for France, for example. But I know the hand configuration is an F, and that it's located somewhere near the top of the head.