InSIGN – Indexicality in language: Insights from use, learning and processing of Finnish Sign Language

The InSIGN project investigates indexicality in sign language use and processing. It does so by analyzing how first-language users and adult learners of Finnish Sign Language (FinSL) use visible bodily actions to indicate referents and manage turn-taking in discourse, as well as how they process indexicality in sign language perception and production. The project combines corpus linguistics, interactional linguistics, and neuroimaging (EEG) to advance our understanding of the role of indexicality in sign language discourse and learning. The project also aims to produce knowledge that supports the teaching and learning of sign language as a second language.