S1 E2: Sign Languages – Dr. Helen Koulidobrova

Much Language Such Talk

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Helen Koulidobrova who is an Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics in the Department of English and Director of the Bilingualism and English Language Learning Research Lab at Central Connecticut State University. Helen's research focuses on sign languages and how people acquire them, more specifically how those who already know a sign language learn a second one (and maybe they speak a language too!) and why some sign languages let you drop subjects and objects when signing.

We talk about learning sign languages, the differences between sign languages from country to country (even region to region!), and the importance of sign languages. We also discuss how Helen uses her research to directly address issues in current policy such as helping make knowledge about sign language easier to access, ensuring hearing parents of deaf children can learn the local sign language to communicate with their children, the need to include those who sign in the conversations about new policy, among many others.

Go to our website to read the transcript!

MLST is brought to you by volunteers at Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh. The views of our guests don’t always reflect our own, as we hope to provide an accessible platform for the findings of current research and the perspectives of experts. For more resources like definitions of linguistic terms, episode transcripts, and information about the team, go to our website at www.mlstpodcast.com.

Recorded on: 2/25/2020

Music: Arc of the Sun by The 126ersssssss