‘It validates what we’ve been saying’: Research by Dal prof shows brain processes sign language like spoken languages

HALIFAX – Members of the deaf community in Halifax said they are encouraged by new research from a Dalhousie University professor that proves that the brain processes sign language like any other spoken language.

Dr. Aaron Newman, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, recently co-authored a paper, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that concludes American Sign Language (ASL) is a specialized human language.

The study looked at brain scans of 19 congenitally deaf ASL users and 19 hearing, English-speaking individuals while they viewed sign language and gestures. It was done in conjunction with researchers at Georgetown University, the University of Geneva and the University of Rochester.

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“What we found is that although there’s certain areas of the brain that are engaged in deaf and hearing people regardless because they’re viewing things, there are actually very different networks,” he said.

“When you know sign language and you’re viewing sign language, it engages specifically the areas of the left hemisphere of the brain. These are the same areas that are activated by normally hearing people when they hear spoken language or when they’re reading language.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When you know sign language and you're viewing sign language, it engages specifically the areas of the left hemisphere of the brain. These are the same areas that are activated by normally hearing people when they hear spoken language or when they're reading language."

Newman said the research is critical because it proves that ASL is considered a language.

“It tells us that sign language is really engaging language-specific areas of the brain. It’s very different from what you’re doing if you’re just trying to make sense of people’s hand movement when they’re not a language,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It tells us that sign language is really engaging language-specific areas of the brain. It's very different from what you're doing if you're just trying to make sense of people's hand movement when they're not a language," he said.

Newman said the research is a validation for the deaf community that ASL is a language and processed as a language rather than as hand gestures. He adds it also serves as a way to better understand the foundations of language as a whole.

“Traditionally linguists have viewed language as what you can write down. You can write down the meanings of signs in sign language and you can write down rules of grammar. But the brain of somebody who knows sign language treats those gestures like things as language. It really extends our understanding of what human language is and the full range of capacities of human language,” he said.

Deaf community heartened by research

Richard Martell, 54, was born deaf and has used ASL his whole life. He tells Global News that it was common for him to be told by others that sign language was not a real language.

“We’ve had to look for research to prove that ASL is a language and with the Dalhousie research, it’s wonderful,” he said with the help of an interpreter.

“When I saw it, I was really excited because it really validates what we’ve been saying all along.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When I saw it, I was really excited because it really validates what we've been saying all along."

Martell said it can often be difficult for members of the deaf community to feel comfortable signing.

“The deaf community might be sometimes a little scared to sign because they might think ASL is not equivalent to English. Society tends to view other languages as lesser than. It really oppresses the deaf community,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The deaf community might be sometimes a little scared to sign because they might think ASL is not equivalent to English. Society tends to view other languages as lesser than. It really oppresses the deaf community," he said.

“The deaf community has put up with it and not said a whole lot but signing, it’s freedom.”

He hopes the research helps bring the deaf and hearing communities together.

“We’re often looked down upon. We’re not recognized in our language but hopefully there will be equality in this.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're often looked down upon. We're not recognized in our language but hopefully there will be equality in this."

Matt Ayyash, 34, has been using ASL since he was 20 years old. He is also excited about the research findings.

“I feel that with recognizing ASL as a language that there will be more accessibility. There will be respect for our language and our culture,” he said with the help of an interpreter.

Better understanding of sign language

Pam Scott was born to two deaf parents but she can hear and uses English as well as ASL. She is hopeful the Dalhousie research will bring more respect to sign language.

Scott, who works as a professional ASL interpreter, said the research is encouraging for those in the deaf community.

“People can look at [the research] and have a little bit more respect for what ASL really is, just like Polish, Mandarin, that it’s a language that somebody else just speaks,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "People can look at [the research] and have a little bit more respect for what ASL really is, just like Polish, Mandarin, that it's a language that somebody else just speaks," she said.

“It will just again drive the point home that my language and their language is a bonafide language. People, I think, will look at the deaf community a little bit differently. They will maybe give them more credit and recognize that they have a lot of intelligence and have a lot of things to communicate instead of thinking it’s a shortened form of English. You can have rich conversations about anything, about theology, philosophy and sciences.”

Newman said his research findings are the tip of the iceberg for research into ASL. Students in his lab plan to further the research and examine what changes take place in the brain when hearing individuals learn ASL.