Can SEE-2 Children Understand ASL-Using Adults?

Signing Exact English or SEE-2, is one of several invented sign systems currently being used with hearing-impaired children in the United States. The system parallels the morphology of written English and differs from American Sign Language both in terms of the configuration of many of the lexical signs and in grammatical word order.

The current study investigated whether students accustomed to an invented sign system could comprehend ASL signed by deaf adults. One group of subjects was exposed to SEE-2 in their day school classrooms. The other group attended residential programs and was exposed to Signed English, PSE and ASL. Both groups observed three videotaped short stories and answered questions following each. Both groups answered approximately 25 percent of the written comprehension questions correctly; their mean scores did not differ significantly. Results of the study suggest that students exposed to SEE-2 and lacking experiences with deaf adults were able to comprehend ASL as well as their peers who attended residential schools.