Lexical processing in Spanish Sign Language (LSE)

Lexical access is concerned with how the spoken or visual input of language is projected onto the mental representations of lexical forms. To date, most theories of lexical access have been based almost exclusively on studies of spoken languages and/or orthographic representations of spoken languages. Relatively few studies have examined how lexical access takes place in deaf users of signed languages. This paper examines whether two properties, lexical familiarity and phonological neighborhood, which are known to influence recognition in spoken languages, influence lexical access in Spanish Sign Language—Lengua de Signos Espanola (LSE). Our results indicate that the representational factors of lexical familiarity and phonological neighborhood can be observed in native and non-native deaf users of LSE. In addition, the present data provides evidence for the importance of sub-lexical properties in sign language processing.