Toward a Motor Theory of Sign Language Perception
This work addresses the gap between linguistic and gesture studies in sign language research, potentially improving communication tools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing theories and examples.
The paper tackles the problem of integrating motion and meaning in sign language analysis, synthesis, and evaluation by proposing a motor theory of perception, which maps linguistic knowledge onto sensory-motor processes, with a methodology based on synthesis-by-analysis and evaluation to validate hypotheses.
Researches on signed languages still strongly dissociate lin- guistic issues related on phonological and phonetic aspects, and gesture studies for recognition and synthesis purposes. This paper focuses on the imbrication of motion and meaning for the analysis, synthesis and evaluation of sign language gestures. We discuss the relevance and interest of a motor theory of perception in sign language communication. According to this theory, we consider that linguistic knowledge is mapped on sensory-motor processes, and propose a methodology based on the principle of a synthesis-by-analysis approach, guided by an evaluation process that aims to validate some hypothesis and concepts of this theory. Examples from existing studies illustrate the di erent concepts and provide avenues for future work.