A descriptive analysis of early word combinations in deaf children's signed utterances

The use of pointing and its place in word combinations and the organization of sentences were examined in children acquiring Japanese Sign Language as a first language. Subjects were three deaf children of signing deaf parent s, and were aged from 1 year 9 months to 3 years 1 month at the time of obs ervation. They were observed and videotaped periodically in free play setti ngs. Pointing gestures were observed frequently in the earlier utterances i n the development of sign language. It was also found that some pointing wa s referentially redundant and had a fixed position at the end of a sentence . This suggests that pointing, as well as being used referentially, plays a grammatical role in organizing the sentence.