This volume is the first to bring together researchers studying a range of different types of emerging sign languages in the Americas, and their relationship to the gestures produced in the surrounding communities of hearing individuals.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Olivier Le Guen, Marie Coppola and Josefina Safar
Introduction: How Emerging Sign Languages in the Americas contributes to the study of linguistics and (emerging) sign languages

Part I: Emerging sign languages of the Americas. Descriptions and analysis

John Haviland
Signs, interaction, coordination, and gaze: interactive foundations of “Z”—an emerging (sign) language from Chiapas, Mexico

Laura Horton
Representational strategies in shared homesign systems from Nebaj, Guatemala

Josefina Safar and Rodrigo Petatillo Chan
Strategies of noun-verb distinction in Yucatec Maya Sign Languages

Emmanuella Martinod, Brigitte Garcia and Ivani Fusellier
A typological perspective on the meaningful handshapes in the emerging sign languages on Marajó Island (Brazil)

Ben Braithwaite
Emerging sign languages in the Caribbean

Olivier Le Guen, Rebeca Petatillo and Rita (Rossy) Kinil Canché
Yucatec Maya multimodal interaction as the basis for Yucatec Maya Sign Language

Marie Coppola
Gestures, homesign, sign language: Cultural and social factors driving lexical conventionalization

Part II: Sociolinguistic sketches

John B. Haviland
Zinacantec family homesign (or “Z”)

Laura Horton
A sociolinguistic sketch of deaf individuals and families from Nebaj, Guatemala

Josefina Safar and Olivier Le Guen
Yucatec Maya Sign Language(s): A sociolinguistic overview

Emmanuella Martinod, Brigitte Garcia and Ivani Fusellier
Sign Languages on Marajó Island (Brazil)

Ben Braithwaite
Sociolinguistic sketch of Providence Island Sign Language

Kristian Ali and Ben Braithwaite
Bay Islands Sign Language: A Sociolinguistic Sketch

Marie Coppola
Sociolinguistic sketch: Nicaraguan Sign Language and Homesign Systems in Nicaragua