Unit 5: Recent Findings

True or False: Protactile is a dialect of ASL.

False. It is a distinct language from ASL.

Who are the two researchers whose work was discussed in the presentation?

Dr. Terra Edwards and Dr. Diane Brentari.

What is “contact space” in Protactile?

tactile signing space that ranges from the shoulders to the lap of the communication partner.

What space does ASL primarily use for signing?

Air space (the visual area around the signer).

Why can't many ASL signs be borrowed into Protactile?

They are ungrounded in touch, ambiguous in contact space, and often depend on visual features.

What replaces facial expressions in Protactile communication?

Touch-based feedback through the listener's dominant hand (H2)

What are the three types of vocabulary categories used in analyzing Protactile and ASL lexicons?

Foreign, core, and spatial.

Which category would fingerspelled words belong to in Protactile?

Foreign vocabulary

Which Protactile vocabulary type is most developed and helps us understand PT phonology?

Spatial vocabulary

What does H1 refer to in Protactile structure?

The signer’s dominant hand.

Which hand provides emotional feedback (backchanneling) in Protactile?

H2 (the listener’s dominant hand).

Why is H4 always in contact with H1?

To maintain a continuous link for receiving information and to comply with PT grammatical rules.

In Protactile, how is a complex spatial construction initiated?

By tapping the back of the listener’s non-dominant hand (H4) with the signer’s non-dominant hand (H3).

True or False: The four hands in Protactile are interchangeable and spontaneous in use.

False. Each has a specific, conventionalized linguistic role.

Why can’t the ASL signs for "yes" and "no" be used in Protactile?

They rely on visual features and feel unclear when transferred to touch.

How is “walk” signed in Protactile?

Using index and middle fingers walking on the listener’s leg, arm, or chest in contact space

How does the meaning of the word "house" differ between ASL and Protactile?

In ASL, it implies a large house; in Protactile, it simply means a house, regardless of size.

What kind of ASL words are rejected in Protactile borrowing?

Words that are unclear or can’t be grounded in touch (e.g., "mother" and "father").

True or False: the four hands used to produce spatial PT vocab have specialized, linguistic functions

True

Which hands must always remain coupled?

• H1, H3

• H1, H4

• H1, H2

• H2, H3

H1, H4

The basic units of spatial vocab in protactile language are:

• Initiate (I)

• Proprioceptive Object (PO)

• Prompt to Continue (PTC)

• Movement Contact Type (MC)

Initiate (I)

signals the start of a tactile interaction and specifies where on the body the communication will occur.

Proprioceptive Object (PO)

refers to the specific body part being used as the primary point of reference for tactile communication

Prompt to Continue (PTC)

indicates that the communicator wants the receiver to maintain contact and continue receiving tactile information

Movement Contact Type (MC)

conveys information about the movement of hands or other objects on the body, such as size, shape, or direction of movement.