Name sign for William Stokoe

Dr. William Stokoe (1919-2000) was a hearing professor at Gallaudet University (formerly Gallaudet College) for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Washington, D.C.

Name sign of a long-time professor at Gallaudet University, one of the most significant linguists of the 20th century; the father of ASL linguistics.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant softly-clawed "C" hand with the palm facing top/side of the head taps on the head twice.

Vocabulary

Related ASL words: William Stokoe was also a renowned LINGUISTICS pioneer of American Sign Language (ASL) and is considered the "father of ASL linguistics" in ASL/Deaf community across North America.

In his studies, he observed full-fledged language used by Deaf people and students at Gallaudet. He discovered linguistic elements in sign language that is also found in speech language, such as PHONOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY, SYNTAX, SEMANTICS, and so on.

Deaf History

How William Stokoe defied the status quo of language by studying sign language (ASL) in linguistics at Gallaudet University.

Subsequently, American hearing neuroscientist Dr. Laura-ann Petitto also revolutionized the concept of language by studying brain activities in prelingual Deaf and hearing ASL-speakers.

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