Understanding Signed Languages provides a broad and accessible introduction to the science of language, with evidence drawn from signed languages around the world. Readers will learn about language through a unique set of signed language studies that will surprise them with the diversity of ways human languages achieve the same functional goals of communication. Designed for students with no prior knowledge of signed languages or linguistics, this book features: A comprehensive introduction to the sub-fields of linguistics, including sociolinguistics, linguistic structure, language change, language acquisition, and bilingualism; Examples from more than 50 of the world’s signed languages and a brief “Language in Community” snapshot in each chapter highlighting one signed language and the researchers who are documenting it; Opportunities to reflect on how language ideologies have shaped scientific inquiry and contributed to linguistic bias; Review and discussion questions, useful websites, and pointers to additional readings and resources at the end of each chapter. Understanding Signed Languages provides instructors with a primary or secondary text to enliven the discourse in introductory classes in linguistics, interpreting, deaf education, disability studies, cognitive science, human diversity, and communication sciences and disorders. Students will develop an appreciation for the language-specific and universal characteristics of signed languages and the global communities in which they emerge.

The study of childhood deafness offers researchers many interesting insights into the role of experience and sensory inputs for the development of language and cognition. This volume provides a state of the art look at these questions and how they are being applied in the areas of clinical and educational settings. It also marks the career and contributions of one of the greatest scholars in the field of deafness: Bencie Woll. As the field of deafness goes through rapid and profound changes, we hope that this volume captures the latest perspectives regarding the impacts of these changes for our understanding of child development. The volume will be of essential interest to language development researchers as well as teachers and clinical researchers.

Build advanced NLU systems by utilizing NLP libraries such as NLTK, SpaCy, BERT, and OpenAI; ML libraries like Keras, scikit-learn, pandas, TensorFlow, and NumPy, along with visualization libraries such as Matplotlib and Seaborn. Purchase of the print Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook Key Features Master NLU concepts from basic text processing to advanced deep learning techniques Explore practical NLU applications like chatbots, sentiment analysis, and language translation Gain a deeper understanding of large language models like ChatGPT Book DescriptionNatural Language Understanding facilitates the organization and structuring of language allowing computer systems to effectively process textual information for various practical applications. Natural Language Understanding with Python will help you explore practical techniques for harnessing NLU to create diverse applications. with step-by-step explanations of essential concepts and practical examples, you’ll begin by learning about NLU and its applications. You’ll then explore a wide range of current NLU techniques and their most appropriate use-case. In the process, you’ll be introduced to the most useful Python NLU libraries. Not only will you learn the basics of NLU, you’ll also discover practical issues such as acquiring data, evaluating systems, and deploying NLU applications along with their solutions. The book is a comprehensive guide that’ll help you explore techniques and resources that can be used for different applications in the future. By the end of this book, you’ll be well-versed with the concepts of natural language understanding, deep learning, and large language models (LLMs) for building various AI-based applications.What you will learn Explore the uses and applications of different NLP techniques Understand practical data acquisition and system evaluation workflows Build cutting-edge and practical NLP applications to solve problems Master NLP development from selecting an application to deployment Optimize NLP application maintenance after deployment Build a strong foundation in neural networks and deep learning for NLU Who this book is for This book is for python developers, computational linguists, linguists, data scientists, NLP developers, conversational AI developers, and students looking to learn about natural language understanding (NLU) and applying natural language processing (NLP) technology to real problems. Anyone interested in addressing natural language problems will find this book useful. Working knowledge in Python is a must.

Taking an accessible and cross-linguistic approach, Understanding Child Language Acquisition introduces readers to the most important research on child language acquisition over the last fifty years, as well as to some of the most influential theories in the field. Rather than just describing what children can do at different ages Rowland explains why these research findings are important and what they tell us about how children acquire language. Key features include: Cross-linguistic analysis of how language acquisition differs between languages A chapter on how multilingual children acquire several languages at once Exercises to test comprehension Chapters organised around key questions that summarise the critical issues posed by researchers in the field, with summaries at the end Further reading suggestions to broaden understanding of the subject With its particular focus on outlining key similarities and differences across languages and what this cross-linguistic variation means for our ideas about language acquisition, Understanding Child Language Acquisition forms a comprehensive introduction to the subject for students of linguistics, psychology and speech and language therapy. Students and instructors will benefit from the comprehensive companion website that includes a students’ section featuring interactive comprehension exercises, extension activities, chapter recaps and answers to the exercises within the book. Material for instructors includes sample essay questions, answers to the extension activities for students and a Powerpoint including all the figures from the book. www.routledge.com/cw/rowland

This book defines the notion of applied sign linguistics by drawing on data from projects that have explored sign language in action in various domains. The book gives professionals working with sign languages, signed language teachers and students, research students and their supervisors, authoritative access to current ideas and practice.

An introduction to linguistics, this book acquaints students to the key areas of linguistics using real-world illustrations. This fully revised and updated text draws upon students' daily experiences with linguistic concepts, allowing them to integrate terminology and build analytical skills as they develop a deeper understanding of how language facilitates our lives and, collectively, our society. Features of the third edition include: - A new chapter exploring language, the brain and the mind - A new chapter on World Englishes - Updated and expanded coverage of topics throughout, including animal communication systems, language and gender and educational linguistics - New and refreshed online resources offering additional support for teachers and students. Equipped with illustrations, diagrams and a wealth of examples of language in use, this book brings the study of language to life, using a wide range of materials including text from public signs, newspapers, magazines, digital platforms, snippets from real-life conversations as well as dialogue from print, film and television. The book's companion website provides a host of additional materials to further assist in the teaching and understanding of linguistics. It includes suggestions for further reading and a list of questions to consolidate understanding at each step.

Understanding Language Contact offers an accessible and empirically grounded introduction to contact linguistics. Rather than taking a traditional focus on the outcomes of language contact, this book takes the novel approach of considering these outcomes as an endpoint of bilingualism and multilingualism. Covering speech production and comprehension, language diffusion across different interactional networks and timeframes, and the historical outcomes of contact-induced language change, this book: Discusses both how these areas relate to one another and how they correspond to different theoretical fields and methodologies; Draws together concepts and methodological/theoretical advances from the related fields of bilingualism and sociolinguistics to show how these can shed new light on the traditional field of contact linguistics; Presents up-to-date research in a digestible form; Includes examples from a wide range of contact languages, including Creoles and pidgins; Indigenous, minority, and heritage languages; mixed languages; and immigrants' linguistic practices, to illustrate ideas and concepts; Features exercises to test students’ understanding as well as suggestions for further reading to expand knowledge in specific areas. Written by three experienced teachers and researchers in this area, Understanding Language Contact is key reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students approaching bilingualism and language contact for the first time.

Understanding Language is an introduction to linguistics aimed at non-major undergraduate students who are new to the subject. The book is comprehensive in its coverage of the key areas of linguistics, yet explains these in an easy to understand, jargon-free way. Pictures, jokes, diagrams, tables and suggestions for further reading make this an accessible, student friendly guide which should enable students to navigate this often complicated area of study. Topics covered include language acquisition; speech sounds; the make-up of words; grammar; meaning; communication; the history of English; language variation and change. This is an essential introduction for students who are taking linguistics at university, whether as their core subject of study, as a non-major or as a bridge between school and undergraduate.

This book brings together a collection of studies on Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). Research on Libras began in earnest 20 years ago, around the time that Libras was recognised as a national language of Brazil in 2002. Over the years, more and more deaf researchers have become sign language linguists, and the community of Libras scholars have documented this language and built robust resources for linguistic research. This book provides a selection of studies by these scholars, representing work in a variety of areas from phonology to creative literature.