| |
Professor Emerita of Linguistics (since July 1, 2023)
with an Extension of Service appointment,
enabling her to continue with her grant-funded research
previously Professor of French and Linguistics
Linguistics Department at Boston University
|
Click here for a brief bio
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8844-9085
| CONTACT INFORMATION |
E-mail: carolneidle@mac.com |
|
|
|
Professor Neidle taught courses in general linguistics and French linguistics. Her research interests include syntactic theory and the syntactic structure of American Sign Language (ASL).
Professor Neidle is the Director of the American Sign Language Linguistic Research Project (ASLLRP). Funding from the NSF supports linguistic research on the syntactic structure of ASL, development of computational tools (including SignStream®, a MacOS application) to facilitate analysis of signed language and gesture, and collaborative research with computer scientists interested in the problem of sign language recognition. Through our National Center for Sign Language and Gesture Resources, several different types of experimental resources and analyzed data are made publicly available.
New software releases: We have recently released: (1) a new Java version of SignStream® (version 3.4.0 released in June 2022), for linguistic annotation and analysis of video data; and (2) a new version (v. 2) of our Web-based Data Access Interface (DAI 2). Both of these tools include substantially expanded functionality relative to the previous versions and allow access to a large new collection of linguistically annotated American Sign Language (ASL) data, the ASLLRP SignStream® 3 Corpus. DAI 2 also provides access to our new ASLLRP Sign Bank.
Books she has published include The Syntax of American Sign Language: Functional Categories and Hierarchical Structure (MIT Press) and The Role of Case in Russian Syntax (Dordrecht: Kluwer).
See this page for information about recent research related to ASL. For more information about other publications related to ASL, see http://www.bu.edu/asllrp/publications.html.
Current and recent NSF-funded collaborative research (see http://www.bu.edu/asllrp/nsf.html) with Dimitris Metaxas (Rutgers University) and Matt Huenerfauth (RIT), among many other project participants, has focused on:
- Computer-based sign recognition;
- Development of publicly shared annotation software for visual language (SignStream®), and linguistically annotated video data (our Sign Bank and Data Access Interface); and
- Applications of this research to benefit the Deaf community and ASL users and learners.
|
Syntax
and syntactic theories, with a focus on American Sign
Language, Russian, and French |
Director, American Sign Language Linguistic Research Project (ASLLRP), a collaborative project encompassing the following subprojects
funded by grants from the National
Science Foundation:
A new Mac OS Java version of SignStream®, for linguistic annotation and analysis of video data, was released in July 2020. There is also a new version of our Web-based Data Access Interface (DAI 2). Both of these tools include substantially expanded functionality relative to the previous versions, and the DAI 2 allows access to a large new collection of linguistically annotated American Sign Language (ASL) data.
NSF funded projects over the years that have partially supported this research:
|
The
Architecture of Functional Categories in American
Sign Language |
|
Investigation
of the syntactic structure of ASL, with particular
emphasis on the hierarchical representation
of functional categories and on the manual and
non-manual expressions of grammatical information.
|
|
SignStream®:
A Multimedia Tool for Sign Language Research |
|
Development
of a computer program designed to facilitate
linguistic analysis of video-based language
data; SignStream allows simultaneous access
to raw video data and to representations of
those data in linguistically useful formats
and is distributed on a non-profit basis to
students, educators, and researchers.
SignStream® version 3 is now available !
|
|
Essential
Tools for Computational Research on Visual-Gestural
Language Data |
|
Collaboration
with Stan Sclaroff in Computer Science at BU. |
|
This
project involves a Java reimplementation of
SignStream to include tools for efficient data
entry of fine-grained phonological information
and integration of information provided by computer
algorithms, among other new features. Machine
vision-based algorithms for semi-automation
of several aspects of the transcription process
will also be developed.
|
|
National
Center for Sign Language and Gesture Resources |
|
Collaboration
between Boston University (the ASLLRP and Stan
Sclaroff's Image and Video Computing Group)
and Rutgers University (Dimitris Metaxas). |
| |
The
goal of this project is to make available several
different types of experimental resources and
analyzed data to facilitate linguistic and computational
research on signed languages and the gestural
components of spoken languages.
|
|
Pattern
Discovery in Signed Languages and Gestural Communication |
| |
Collaboration
with Margrit Betke, George Kollios, and Stan Sclaroff
in Computer Science at BU. |
|
Pattern
analysis algorithms are being developed for
discovery of the co-occurrence, overlap, relative
timing, frequency, and magnitude of non-manual
gestures in ASL.
|
|
ITR-Collaborative Research: Advances in recognition and interpretation of human motion: An Integrated Approach to ASL Recognition |
| |
Collaboration with Dimitris Metaxas, Ahmed Elgammal and Vladimir Pavlovic (Rutgers University) and Christian Vogler (Gallaudet University) |
| |
This project focuses on integration of information (which is linguistically essential) from both the manual and non-manual channels for purposes of computer-based sign language recognition. |
|
Large Lexicon Gesture Representation, Recognition, and Retrieval |
| |
Collaboration with Stan Sclaroff (BU Computer Science) and Vassilis Athitsos (University of Texas at Arlington) |
| |
One goal of the research is development of a "look-up" capability, whereby a signer can produce a sign in front of a camera, or identify a sign in a video, and have the computer identify which sign it is. One application of this technology would be an interface for a multi-media sign language dictionary.
|
|
Linguistically Based ASL Sign Recognition as a Structured Multivariate Learning Problem |
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas) |
| |
|
|
Generating Accurate, Understandable Sign Language Animations Based on Analysis of Human Signing |
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas) and CUNY Queens/RIT (M. Huenerfauth) |
| |
|
|
Development of Publicly Available, Easily Searchable, Linguistically Analyzed, Video Corpora for Sign Language and Gesture Research |
| |
Collaboration among Boston University (C. Neidle, S. Sclaroff), Rutgers University (D. Metaxas), Gallaudet University (B. Bahan, C. Vogler) and U. Texas Arlington (V. Athitsos) |
| |
|
|
EAGER: Collaborative Research: Data Visualizations for Linguistically Annotated, Publicy Shared, Video Corpora for American Sign Langauge (ASL) |
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas) |
| |
|
|
CHS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Scalable Integration of Data-Driven and Model-Based Methods for Large Vocabulary Sign Recognition and Search |
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas) and RIT (M. Huenerfauth) |
| |
|
|
NSF Convergence Accelerator [Phase I] Track D: the Deaf, ASL Education & Linguistic ResearchData and AI Methods for Modeling Facial Expressions in Language, with Applications to Priacy for Medium: Collaborative Research
see also: https://www.bu.edu/asllrp/facial-analytics.html
|
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas, M. D'Imperio) and RIT (M. Huenerfauth) |
| |
|
|
CHS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Linguistically-Driven Sign Recognition from Continuous Signing for American Sign Language (ASL) |
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas) and RIT (M. Huenerfauth) |
| |
|
|
NSF Convergence Accelerator Track H: AI-based Tools to Enhance Access and Opportunites for the Deaf |
| |
Collaboration with Rutgers University (D. Metaxas) and RIT (M. Huenerfauth) |
 |
Related to American Sign Language
Carol
Neidle, Judy Kegl, Dawn MacLaughlin, Benjamin
Bahan, and Robert G. Lee (2000) The
Syntax of American Sign Language: Functional Categories
and Hierarchical Structure. Cambridge, MA: The
MIT Press.
|
Other Publications include:
Carol
Neidle (1988) The Role of Case in Russian Syntax. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Carol Neidle (1982) "Case Agreement in Russian." Chapter
6 in J. Bresnan (ed), The Mental Representation of
Grammatical Relations. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Carol Neidle and Rafael A. Nunez Cedeno (eds) (1987) Linguistic
Studies in Romance Languages. Dordrecht:
Foris Publications.
Carol Neidle (1994) "Lexical Functional Grammar." In The
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. New York: Pergamon Press, 2147-2153. Reprinted in
K. Brown and J. Miller (eds) (1996) Concise Encyclopedia of Syntactic Theories. Oxford: Elsevier.
See
this article
in pdf or download a postscript
version.
Joyce
Friedman and Carol Neidle (1986) Phonological Analysis
for French Dictation: Preliminaries to an Intelligent
Tutoring System. Boston University Computer Science
Technical Report #86-004, April 1986.
|
Aarons,
Debra (1994) Aspects
of the Syntax of American Sign Language. Doctoral
dissertation, Boston University, Boston, MA.
Current position: Lecturer and Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator, Department of Linguistics at the University
of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Previously, she held a tenured position as Associate Professor at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa,
where she founded the first academic program on South African Sign Language in the country.
Some
recent publications - listed here
Bahan,
Benjamin [link to Wikipedia entry] (1996) Non-Manual
Realization of Agreement in American Sign Language. Doctoral dissertation, Boston University, Boston, MA.
Professor, Department of Deaf Studies, Gallaudet
University, Washington, DC. (Chair, Department of Deaf Studies, 1996-2002)
Cahana-Amitay,
Dalia (1997) Syntactic
Aspects of the Production of Verbal Inflection in Aphasia. Doctoral dissertation, Boston University, Boston, MA.
Current position: Research Assistant Professor of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine
Previous position: Assistant Professor, Department of English, Beit Berl Academic College, Kfar Sabba, Israel
Some
recent publications - listed here
Law, Sam-Po (1990) The Syntax and Phonology
of Cantonese Sentence-Final Particles. Doctoral
dissertation, Boston University, Boston, MA.
Professor and Previously Head of Division, Dept.of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University
of Hong Kong.
Previously Director, Aphasia, dyslexia and dysgraphia laboratory.
Some
recent publications - listed here
MacLaughlin,
Dawn (1997) The
Structure of Determiner Phrases: Evidence from American
Sign Language. Doctoral dissertation, Boston University,
Boston, MA.
Some
publications
MacLaughlin,
D. (1995). Language Acquisition and the Subset Principle. The Linguistic Review, 12, 143-191.
MacLaughlin,
D. (1998). The acquisition of the morphosyntax of
English reflexives by non-native speakers. In M.-L.
Beck, ed., Morphology and its interfaces in second
language knowledge (pp. 195-226). Philadelphia:
John Benjamins.
|
Academic Affiliations
Professor Emerita of Linguistics, with an Extension of Service appointment, Boston University,
Boston, MA (2023- )
Professor of French and Linguistics, Boston University,
Boston, MA (2001-2023)
Associate
Professor of French and Linguistics, Department of
Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures, Boston University,
Boston, MA (1987-2001).
Assistant Professor of French and
Linguistics, Department of Modern Foreign Languages
and Literatures, Boston University (1982-1987).
Chair of the Linguistics Department [created 7/1/18] (2018-2020)
Director of the Linguistics Program (2001-2018)
Director,
Ph.D. Program in Applied Linguistics, Boston University
(1988-1994).
Faculty
Advisor for the Boston University Conference on Language
Development (1988-1994).
Faculty
Member, Middlebury College French School, Summers
of 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988.
Education
Ph.D.
in Linguistics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, 1983.
Dissertation
supervisor: Joan
Bresnan
M.A.
in French, Middlebury
College, Middlebury, VT, 1978.
B.A.
in Linguistics, Yale
University, New Haven, CT, 1978.
|
American Sign Language Linguistic Research Project 
More information about the program in Linguistics at Boston University
|
|
