A multimodalidade da linguagem em cenas de atenção conjunta: estudo de caso de uma díade surda

Abstract

This research focuses on the multimodality of language in joint attention (J.A.) scenes, by means of a case study intended to observe and analyze the interaction between deaf mother and daughter in joint attention scenes, in order to shed light on how different modes of language emerge in the context of sign language use. For this purpose, two multimodality elements are to be analyzed: gesture and gaze. Therefore, this work has the general objective of identifying how aspects of multimodality present themselves in joint care activities between mother and baby, both deaf, who have Brazilian Sign Language as their language of interaction and have the following specific objectives: i) to describe how gesture and gaze language modes emerge during the joint attention activity between deaf mother and baby interacting through the use of Brazilian Sign Language (BSL); ii) identify how these language modes contribute to language acquisition during the joint attention activity between deaf mother and infant interacting through the use of Brazilian Sign Language. To achieve this goal, the following authors were used as reference: for joint attention, Tomasello and Farrar (1986), Tomasello (2019) and Alan and Souza (2009); for the study of language multimodality, McNeill (1985), Cavalcante (2009a, 2018), Ávila-Nóbrega and Cavalcante (2012a, 2012b), Ávila-Nóbrega (2018) and Silva (2021), and for joint attention, specifically, between mothers and deaf babies, Meier (2006), Vaz da Silva (2012) and Lieberman Hatrak and Mayberry (2014). The corpus consists of 6 videos, available on the Youtube channel entitled " Fiorella´s diary", and comprises several stages of Fiorella, ranging from 1 year and 7 months to 2 years and 6 months. For data tabulation and analysis, the software Eudico Linguistic Annotator (ELAN) was used, documenting the exact moment in which the language modes gesture and gaze occur during joint attention activity. By analyzing how multimodality is present in activities of joint attention between mother and daughter, with a sign language as a mediation language, the study will contribute to the training of linguists and other professionals engaged in the study of deaf children linguistic development, as this research seeks to bring a greater understanding not only on of joint attention activity, but also, better understanding about how other modes of language are associated in the use of a sign language, providing clues on the construction of meaning and, consequently, on deaf infant’s insertion in culturally situated practices.