title: Viewpoint in the Visual-Spatial Modality: The Coordination of Spatial Perspective.
abstract: Sign languages express viewpoint-dependent spatial relations (e.g., left, right) iconically but must conventionalize from whose viewpoint the spatial relation is being described, the signer's or the perceiver's. In Experiment 1, ASL signers and sign-naïve gesturers expressed viewpoint-dependent relations egocentrically, but only signers successfully interpreted the descriptions non-egocentrically, suggesting that viewpoint convergence in the visual modality emerges with language conventionalization. In Experiment 2, we observed that the cost of adopting a non-egocentric viewpoint was greater for producers than for perceivers, suggesting that sign languages have converged on the most cognitively efficient means of expressing left-right spatial relations. We suggest that non-linguistic cognitive factors such as visual perspective-taking and motor embodiment may constrain viewpoint convergence in the visual-spatial modality.
authors.affiliation: Wellesley College, Psychology Department, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA.
authors.forename: Jennie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Pyers
authors.affiliation: University of Brighton, School of Humanities, Checkland Building, BN1 9PH Brighton, UK, p.perniss@brighton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perniss
authors.affiliation: San Diego State University, Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience, 6495 Alvarado Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92120, kemmorey@projects.sdsu.edu.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Emmorey
keywords: Spatial language; gesture; sign language; viewpoint