An important new collection of original papers dealing with essential
issues and research in the learning of language by deaf people. The book
addresses issues in the fields of second language acquisition and
deafness, and draws upon the fields of linguistics, psychology, and
education. Of particular importance is the relationship between the
learning of English by the deaf and by hearing speakers of other
languages. The first five chapters concern theoretical issues on
language varieties among the deaf population, American sign language and
the biology of language, sign language instruction, and language
education of deaf children from both historical and bilingual
perspectives. The second half of the book contains six original,
previously unpublished research reports on topics related to language
learning by deaf children and adults.