Development of the minimal contrasts perception in the brazilian sign language by a group of Coda

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

to verify the emergence and acquisition of the minimal contrasts perception in the Brazilian Sign Language, by Children of Deaf Adults.

Methods:

nine collections of Brazilian Sign Language perception skills of normal hearing children with deaf parents, from two to nine years old, during their language development period, were performed and analyzed. The applied test consisted of 35 minimal pairs, signs which varied in only one parameter, which could be: handshape, location, movement or orientation. The signs were graphically represented through pictures. A statistical analysis was performed with significance level of 5%. The used tests were the comparison tests by Friedman and Wilcoxon, and also the Spearman correlation test.

Results:

the parameter movement is more easily perceived than the other contrasts, followed by the parameters location and hand configuration, which act in a similar way in the perception of these learners. The most difficult contrast to be perceived was orientation. Another relevant finding refers to age group, because the longest the contact with sign language the children had, the better was the Coda performance in the perception test of the minimal contrasts.

Conclusion:

it was perceived that through the perception test it was possible to detect which parameters are first acquired. The most easily perceived was the movement parameter, followed by location and handshape, while orientation was the last to be acquired.

Keywords:
Sign Language; Deafness; Child; Language; Multilingualism