Language contact

Susan Fischer introduces David Quinto-Pozos, a former interpreter at RIT/NTID. He received his Ph.D at the University of Texas, and works at the University of Pittsburgh in the department of lesser-known languages. Quinto-Pozos begins his presentation about language contact. He defines it as two languages in proximity to each other with changes in syntax and grammar. Valli, who recently passed away that week was one of the first pioneers of research on language contact in sign language. He worked with Ceil Lucas and the two investigated the contact between ASL and English and how they overlap each other in different ways. Quinto-Pozos is interested in language contact between Mexican Sign Language (LSM) and American Sign Language (ASL) and shares his dissertation research on this topic. His research uncovers the influences of contact between LSM and ASL similar to spoken language contact between Spanish and English. The research on contact between sign languages mirrors the results of spoken languages with some unique differences.