Grammatical Judgement Test for ASL
This test was
developed within the framework of a research project that investigates the
effects of age regarding the acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL) with
regard to its grammatical processing (Boudreault, 1999; Boudreault &
Mayberry, 2000).
Thirty deaf
subjects, aged 18 to 84 with ASL as their primary language, participated in the
study. The subjects were divided into three groups depending on their age of
first contact with ASL. The groups were named (1) ‘native’, deaf people where
one or both parents used ASL, (2) deaf people who learned ASL in the school,
form age four to seven, and (3) late learners, who started to learn ASL between
age eight and thirteen.
Instrument
This is a
receptive test. The subjects saw 168 ASL sentences and had to judge whether the
sentences were grammatical or ungrammatical. The sentences used had an
increased syntactic complexity. The subjects’ response accuracy and latency
were measured.
All types of
sentences consisted of fourteen grammatical and fourteen ungrammatical
sentences. The 28 sentences for each task had a total number of morphemes
ranging from 184 to 220. The subjects were tested on six types of sentences.
(1)
Simple sentences: The sentences consisted of only
uninflected signs, that is, only with plain verbs with no agreement. No
grammatical facial expression or other kinds of expression were used. No
agreement of loci, except for the pronouns in signing space, was used. The
sentences were made ungrammatical by moving the verb to a different position in
the sentence.
(2)
Negative sentences: Only uninflected signs, except for the
negative marker, were used. No agreement of loci, besides the possessive
pronouns in signing space, was used. Two types of negative inflection were
used: (1) the ASL sign NOT before the verb and (2) the negative non-manual
facial morpheme. They were made ungrammatical by moving the sign NOT to a
different location in the sentence. The negative non-manual facial expression
appeared at the beginning of the sentence and continued during the sentence
before the verb started.
(3)
Directional verb sentences: Only
uninflected signs with one verb that was inflected for person and number were
included. The verbs used were directional, using the signing space to indicate
person and number. Two types of directional verbs were used: (1) body-anchored
verbs and (2) unanchored verbs. The body-anchored verbs do not take person or
number inflection. The unanchored verbs take inflection for person and number.
They need two persons for verb agreement and agreement among first, second, and
third persons. The sentences were made ungrammatical by moving the verb phrase
(i.e. verb and person/number inflection) to another phrase.
(4)
Wh-sentences: The Wh-(question)-sentences consist of
an uninflected sign and a Wh-marker. Half of the sentences had a verb that was
inflected, and half of the sentences had plain verbs. There are two types of
Wh-markers: (1) Wh non-manual facial morphemes (without any Wh-sign) and (2)
the sign WHY and WHO at the end of the sentence. The sentences were made
ungrammatical by moving the Wh-facial marker or sign to another phrase.
(5)
Relative clause sentences: A relative clause (RC)
sentence consists of two verbs. The verbs were either inflected or plain. There
are two types of relative clause markers: (1) relative clause facial morphemes
and (2) THAT/ITSELF sign markers. An RC subordinate is made with a facial
expression only and without the RC sign. The RC markers (facial expression)
were placed in the first part of the sentence, with the RC sign in the second
part of the sentence. The sentences were made ungrammatical by switching the RC
facial marker and its clause to the second part of the sentence, and by moving
the RC sign to an earlier phrase.
(6)
Classifier sentences: The classifier sentences
consist of two clauses. The second clause used a verb of motion. Three types of
classifiers were used: (1) CLASS-1 (animate and vehicles), (2) CLASS-2
(inanimate and object), and (3) SASS. The sentences were made ungrammatical by
scrambling the spatial order of the classifiers.
The ASL
stimuli vary in their degree of complexity. The chosen grammatical structures
were based on ASL research and acquisition studies. The stimuli were developed
by the deaf investigator of the study and another deaf native signer. A total
of 168 sentences were presented. A pilot study was conducted. The ASL sentences
were videotaped and shown to three ASL signers who judged if the sentences were
grammatical or ungrammatical. The three judges agreed on the majority of the
stimuli. The three judges disagreed whether particular sentences were
ungrammatical. The stimuli were changed until all three ASL signers agreed that
they were ungrammatical. Following the pilot, the stimuli were videotaped. Only
signs with a high frequency were used to avoid confusion.
Testing
The videotaped
stimuli were edited and subsequently recorded onto a CD-ROM and presented via a
computer. A command pad (game pad) was attached to the computer during the
testing. Two of the four buttons were used to indicate whether a sentence was
grammatical or ungrammatical. The computer recorded the response accuracy and
latency of the subjects. In doing so, the scoring was efficient, since the data
was already in the computer.
American Sign
Language was used during testing. The subjects were tested individually. The
testing time varied between fourteen minutes and one hour. Prior to the test,
an interview to obtain some background information on the subjects was
conducted. After the interview, a practice session with eight ASL stimuli was
done. The subjects were instructed to focus on syntactic structures of the
sentences (facial expression, sign order, spatial arrangement) and to judge
their correctness. The test was divided into four parts, with a three to
five-minute break between each part. Each part consisted of 48 stimuli,
randomly drawn from 168 stimuli. This test is not available since it only had
been used in a research context so far.
Among the strengths of this test
are that (1) it has an easy, comprehensible testing format and (2) has an
efficient analysis through its computer based format.