Friday, May 22nd, 2026  - time TBA (GMT+2)

Signed vs. Spoken; Language Reconsidered

Laurence Meurant, University of Namur 

Signed languages offer a unique perspective on linguistic assumptions, many of which come from the study of spoken languages and their written forms. What can seem obvious in spoken language, such as the traditional opposition between gesture and language, becomes far less clear when we consider languages that rely on a single visual–gestural modality rather than two. From this perspective, even the very definition of what counts as “linguistic” is open to question.

Yet despite their potential to reshape linguistic theory, signed languages have rarely been used as a starting point for theoretical reflection. Instead, they have long been approached through concepts and categories developed for spoken languages. This talk argues for reversing that perspective. It explores what our understanding of language can gain from a comparative and inclusive approach to signed and spoken languages.

How can such a comparison be carried out? What conditions are necessary to ensure the approach remains methodologically and theoretically sound? The presentation highlights two key requirements: comparable data and a theoretical framework whose core concepts are agnostic to modality. Recent work in comparative semiotics between French Belgian Sign Language (LSFB) and Belgian French will serve as a concrete case study, highlighting both the challenges and the insights of this approach.

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