It has been argued that properties of the visual-gestural modality impose a homogenizing effect
on sign languages leading to less structural variation in sign language structure as compared
to spoken language structure. However until recently research on sign languages was limited
to a number of (Western) sign languages. Before we can truly answer the question of whether
modality effects do indeed cause less structural variation it is necessary to investigate the
similarities and differences that exist between sign languages in more detail and especially
to include in this investigation less studied sign languages.The current research climate is
testimony to a surge of interest in the study of a geographically more diverse range of sign
languages. The volume reflects that climate and brings together work by scholars engaging in
comparative sign linguistics research. The 11 articles discuss data from many different signed
and spoken languages and cover a wide range of topics from different areas of grammar including
phonology (word pictures) morphology (pronouns negation and auxiliaries) syntax (word order
interrogative clauses auxiliaries negation and referential shift) and pragmatics (modal
meaning and referential shift). In addition to this the contributions address psycholinguistic
issues aspects of language change and issues concerning data collection in sign languages
thereby providing methodological guidelines for further research. Although some papers use a
specific theoretical framework for analyzing the data the volume clearly focuses on empirical
and descriptive aspects of sign language variation.
