HeSLEx: A novel online questionnaire for heritage sign language research

Abstract

In this paper, we present Heritage Sign Language Experience (HeSLEx), a novel online sociolinguistic questionnaire adapted from the heritage spoken language survey HeLEx (Tomić et al., 2023) to provide a standardized community profile prior to data collection. Heritage sign languages are minority sign languages used by Deaf signers in migration contexts and thus offer a unique window on bilingualism in the visual modality. HeSLEx is designed to be visual-first: most content is delivered as videos featuring signing in Russian Sign Language (RSL) by community member in a JavaScript/jsPsych interface. To accommodate heterogeneous RSL comprehension, each video includes optional Russian and German text hidden behind a "Show text" button. HeSLEx adds sign-specific modules, including participant and parental hearing status; modality-appropriate proficiency ratings (signing/comprehension for RSL and German Sign Language; reading/writing for Russian and German); educational histories and language(s) of instruction; interactional contexts central to Deaf life (including Deaf clubs); and Deaf-centered identity and language-attitude measures. Many items use slider scales to yield continuous predictors. The tool is designed to be adaptable to other sign language pairs in the framework of heritage language research and beyond.

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