The role of iconicity and simultaneity in efficient communication in the visual modality - dissertation abstract

Aug 22, 2026

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The dissertation examines how iconicity and simultaneity in sign languages contribute to efficient communication within the visual modality. Building on evidence that sign languages share core linguistic properties with spoken languages while offering modality-specific iconic and simultaneous means, the study frames efficiency as robust and fast information transmission. It tests whether simultaneous and iconic constructions help organize event information by bringing syntactically and semantically related elements closer, both sequentially and simultaneously, across three complementary experimental studies using Italian Sign Language data and silent gesture comparisons.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Context of the work

Participants and data sources

Chapter structure and research perspectives

Methodology

Experimental design and stimuli

Information density manipulation

Dissertation scope and hypothesis

Efficient communication and visual organization

dissertation abstract The role of iconicity and simultaneityin efficient communication in the visual modality Evidence from LIS (Italian Sign Language)( Radboud University, 2022) Anita Slonimska Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics [Available online at: [https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/](https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/)[ ](https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/)[630_fulltext.pdf](630_fulltext.pdf)] Sign languages share the same fundamental linguistic properties as spoken languages at all levels of linguistic organization (Sandler & Lillo-Martin 2006). However, they also exhibit modality-specific features, i.e., the ability to convey information iconically and simultaneously. Recent research has shown that the iconic and simultaneous properties of sign languages constitute a more central role than previously thought in language structuring, processing, and learning (Perniss et al. 2010; Vermeerbergen et al. 2007). The dissertation summarized in the current abstract goes beyond existing literature by systematically investigating these visual modality-specific properties from a new perspective, i.e., efficient communication. Recently, it has been proposed that one of the fundamental functions of language is to allow efficient communication, that is,“easy, fast and robust information transmission” (Gibson et al. 2019:389), thereby finding a balance between minimizing costs in language production and comprehension (Gibson et al. 2019; Grice 1975; Levshina & Moran 2021). A substantial amount of evidence suggests that communicative efficiency constitutes one of the selective pressures that drives cultural language evolution, and it might explain several aspects of language structure cross-linguistically (for a review, see Gibson et al. 2019; Levshina 2022). One of the ways how linguistic systems optimize for communicative efficiency is by positioning syntactically and semantically related elements closer together in a sentence, thereby lightening memory load during language production and comprehension (for a review, see Temperley & Gildea 2018). While this principle has [https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.00084.slo](https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.00084.slo | Published online:)[ |](https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.00084.slo | Published online:)[ Published online:](https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.00084.slo | Published online:) 19 March 2024 Sign Language & Linguistics ISSN 1387-9316 | E‑ISSN 1569-996X © 2024 John Benjamins Publishing Company been attested in a variety of spoken languages, it remains unexplored in sign languages, where the distinct affordances of the visual modality may influence how this principle may be operationalized. The dissertation explores the hypothesis that the ability of sign languages to organize information simultaneously and iconically is employed for communicative efficiency by allowing for syntactically and semantically related elements of an event to be arranged closer together not only sequentially but also simultaneously (for an example, see Figure 1). To address this hypothesis, three experimental studies are conducted that investigate the use of simultaneous and iconic constructions from different but complementary perspectives in terms of their role in information organization, linguistic encoding strategies, and language evolution. Such an interdisciplinary approach not only allows some of the missing gaps in the literature to be filled, but on a more general scale, it provides a more complete understanding of how language can be optimized for communicative efficiency based on the modality in which it is realized. Figure 1. An example of simultaneous and iconic construction used to depict a dog holding and petting a bird. The dog is mapped onto the body of the signer and marked by torso, head, facial expression, and eye gaze. The dog’s holding action is depicted on the left hand and the petting action is depicted on the right hand. Note. Before depicting the dog a

FAQs

What is the dissertation’s central focus regarding sign languages?

It investigates how iconicity and simultaneity in sign languages support efficient communication in the visual modality.

How does the dissertation operationalize communicative efficiency?

It frames efficiency as easy, fast, and robust information transmission, linked to how language production and comprehension balance costs and memory load.

What experimental approach is used to test the hypothesis?

Three experimental studies manipulate information density in event representations and analyze how simultaneous and iconic constructions organize information from complementary perspectives.

Aug 22, 2026

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