Sign language and bilingualism

In the following, aspects of bilingualism with respect to persons with hearing deficits are discussed. Some components of German Sign Language are sketched and it is shown that the prosodic features of the respective mother tongue is decisive for processing of linguistic and communicative content. It is argued that a successive second language acquisition (here: Written German) can only be successful on the basis of an acquired mother tongue. Early bilingualism for persons with hearing deficits is recommended under a psycholinguistic perspective. Some examples of acquisitional steps into Written German will be demonstrated. For a special group of children (22q11-syndrome) with speech blockages, employing sign (language) is recommended.