14. Sign Language–Spoken Language Bilingualism and the Derivation of Bimodally Mixed Sentences

Summary

Sign language-spoken language bilingualism, or bimodal bilingualism, is the knowledge of a spoken language, communicated through the oral-aural modality, and a sign language, communicated through the visual-gestural modality. This chapter reviews the diverse products of sign language-spoken language interaction and sets the stage for a minimalist program of linguistic research on bimodal bilingual mixing, adopting a minimalist assumption for bimodal code-switching (BCS). Specifically, this chapter extends MacSwan's minimalist research program for unimodal bilingual mixing to the investigation of bimodal mixing. The interaction of not only two languages but also their two modalities yields bimodal linguistic structure with quite extraordinary properties when compared with unimodal mixing. Along with seeking a principled account of bimodal mixing, the ultimate goal of this review is to move toward an increased understanding of all bilingual mixing, both unimodal and bimodal.