Sign language speakers' hands, mouths operate separately
Monday, August 23, 2010 - 15:28
in Paleontology & Archaeology
When people are communicating in sign languages, they also move their mouths. But scientists have debated whether mouth movements resembling spoken language are part of the sign itself or are connected directly to English. In a new study on British Sign Language, signers made different mistakes in the sign and in the mouthing -- which means the hand and lip movements are separate in the signer's brain, not part of the same sign.