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  • Mary Edward

Mary Edward

Mary holds a BA (English and Linguistics) from the University of Ghana and MA (Linguistics) from the University of Bergen, Norway. She is currently enrolled on an MPhil/PhD (Linguistics) at the University of Brighton and her project   investigates iconicity in two sign languages used in Ghana (Ghanaian Sign Language and Adamorobe Sign Language). Mary has presented her research works in several international conferences including BAAL’s special interest group (British Association of Applied Linguistics), CALL (Colloquium on African Languages and  Linguistics), Bridging the Gap Conference at the University of Brighton etc. Mary has authored papers on several topics in Ghanaian and Adamorobe Sign Language and these are currently reviewed for publication.

Email address: m.edward@brighton.ac.uk

Qualification: PhD

Timeframe: 3 years

Mary-Edward

Thesis title

Iconicity as a pervasive force in language: Evidence from Ghanaian Sign Language and Adamorobe Sign Language.

My research

Sign languages are natural human languages used by deaf communities around the world. The visual modality of sign languages offers a high potential for iconicity (resemblance relationships between form and meaning), and scholarly research in this field has created a new wave of interest in iconicity. Of particular interest is the understanding that iconicity is not monolithic, but demonstrated through different devices and strategies that may be influenced by cultural factors and specific communicative contexts.

This research project contributes to our understanding of iconicity in language by providing accounts of iconicity in two sign languages used in Ghana: Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL), an urban sign language, and Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL), a village sign language. This research aims to find how iconicity is revealed in different domains of communication in GSL and AdaSL. The project adopts a Cognitive Linguistics framework in identifying and describing iconicity in GSL and AdaSL. Domains to be investigated include signs for household items and tools, spatial language and action/event representation.

Comparing video data from GSL and AdaSL, this research contributes to our understanding of the nature of iconicity in language, and contributes new data corpora, with comparative data from two languages.

Supervisors

Dr Pamela Perniss

Professor Sherman Wilcox (Second, University of New Mexico, USA)

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