Research overview
I am a developmental Psychologist interested in how early deafness impacts on language and cognitive development.
Language development. My early
research concentrated on comparisons between sign and
spoken language development and my PhD described this with
narrative skills. In the first studies I used
spontaneous language samples from 2 families of native
signers (deaf children of deaf parents). During this period I co-edited the IASCL volume in
2002 with Bencie Woll on sign acquisition. I then moved on to look at the effects of different experiences of learning language i.e. being born to deaf and hearing parents. My current work on language is involving more experimental studies with BSL in adults and also gestures and spoken language in deaf children. This last factor is to do with the changes in how language is being used by this group. The research question now is why there is so much variability in how completely deaf children learn spoken language. Click
here for an interview by IASCL on language development
I have been looking at
language impairments in signing and gestures. This research looks at common and differing patterns of breakdown.
Linked to this area I worked in my post-doc with Neil Smith (UCL) and how Christopher
the language savant would learn BSL. Our latest project is categorising groups of young deaf children with Cochlear Implant to see if their delays in spoken language development are explained by environment, general cognitive-neurological deficits or a language learning impairment.
Language
and Cognition.
The
relationship between language and cognitive development is complex. I
have looked at this in relation to Theory of Mind and now with
the development of Executive Functions. A common theme is emerging, linked to the quality of early interaction (communication) and its role in setting up language structures. Also that the relationship between language and cognition changes over development. The best articulation of that idea is written up as a chapter to appear with Matt Dye.
Gesture-sign interface. In other
areas I am investigating how children
learn about iconicity and gesture. Linked to this last question I have been exploring how
signed languages have evolved from co-speech gesture and what
role language development (in adults and children) has played during this transition. I am leading an international project looking at how hearing adults lean signing and what role gesture plays in this.
Papers
are downloadable, contact
me for copies if not.
Language development
Martínez López, V. & Morgan, G. (2019). Phonological development in Spanish deaf children/Desarrollo fonológico tardío en niños españoles con pérdidas auditivas bilaterales (in English/Spanish). Infancia y Aprendizaje Now working with Spanish children.
Garraffa, M., Guasti, M.T., Marinis, T. & Morgan, G. (2017). Language Acquisition in Diverse Linguistic, Social and Cognitive Circumstances. Frontiers in Psychology Research Topic
Pierce, L., Genesee, F., Delcenserie, A. & Morgan, G. (2017).Toward a model of multiple paths to language learning: Response to commentaries. Applied Pscholinguistics
Pierce, L., Genesee, F., Delcenserie, A. & Morgan, G. (2017). Linking Early Language Experiences and Language Learning Outcomes. Special target article which will be published with a range of commentaries and our response to these. Applied Pscholinguistics.
I did a talk to teachers of the deaf in Edinburgh on this paper. Here is the link
Thompson, R., England, R., Woll, B., Lu, J. Mumford, K. & Morgan, G. (2017). Deaf and hearing children’s picture naming: Impact of age of acquisition and language modality on representational gesture. The gesture–sign interface in language acquisition / L’interface geste–signe dans l’acquisition du langage. Special issue of Language, Interaction and Acquisition 8:1 (2017)
Perniss, P., Lu, J., Morgan, G. & Vigliocco, G. (2017). Mapping language to the world: The role of iconicity in the sign language input. Developmental Science
Morgan, G. (2017). Trying to make sense of language synthesis. Commentary on Lillo-Martin et al. The development of bimodal bilingualism Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 6:6, 799-801
Mann,
W., Sheng, L. & Morgan, G. (2016). Lexical-Semantic
Organization in Bilingually Developing Deaf Children with ASL Dominant
Language
Exposure: Evidence From a Repeated Meaning Association Task. Language
Learning
Lu, J., Jones, A. & Morgan,
G. (2016). The impact of input quality on
early sign development in native and non-native language learners. Journal
of Child Language, Special Issue on critical periods
Perez,
M., Valsameda, M. & Morgan, G.
(2015). Bilingual
sign education in Madrid, Spain. In. G, Tang, H. Knoors
& M. Marschark. Bilingualism and Bilingual Deaf Education
(Oxford University Press).
Singleton, J., Martin, A.
& Morgan, G. (2015). Ethics, Deaf-Friendly Research,
and Good Practice When Studying Sign Languages. In E.
Orfanidou, B. Woll, & G. Morgan. Research Methods in Sign
Language Studies: A Practical Guide. Wiley-Blackwell.
Morgan,
G. (2014). Critical
Period in Language Development. In P. Brookes & V.
Kempe (Eds). Encyclopedia
of Language Development. Sage press.
Marshall,
C,. Mann, W. &
Morgan, G.
(2011).
Short-term memory in signed languages:
Not just a disadvantage for serial recall. Front. Psychology 2:102
Mann,
W., Marshall, C., Mason, K., & Morgan, G. (2010). The
acquisition of sign language: the impact of phonetic complexity on phonology.
Language Learning and Development 6, 60-86
Ortega,
G.; Morgan, G. (2010). Comparing child and
adult development of a visual phonological system. Language,
Interaction and Acquisition. 1 (1) 67-81.
Morgan,
G., Herman, R., Barriere, I. & Woll, B. (2008).
The onset and
mastery of spatial language in children acquiring British Sign Language,
Cognitive Development, 23, 1-9. Commentary on the paper by Dan
Slobin
Marshall,
C. & Morgan, G. (2008). Review
of Visible
variation.
J.
Linguistics 44
(2008)
Morgan,
G., Barrett-Jones, S. & Stoneham, H. (2007). The first signs of language: phonological
development in British Sign Language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28,
3-22
Morgan, G.
& Woll, B. (eds). (2007). Understanding sign language classifiers through a
polycomponential approach. Special Issue Lingua, 117, 7, 1159-1168.
Morgan,
G., Barriere, I. & Woll, B. (2006) The influence of typology and modality in
the acquisition of verb agreement in British Sign Language. First Language,
26, p19-44.
Morgan,
G. (2006). Children are just lingual:
The development of phonology in BSL. Lingua, 116, 1507-1523
Morgan,
G. (2005). What is Homesign? Review of
S. Goldin-Meadow (2003). The resilience of Language. Psychology press. Journal
of Child Language, 32, 925-928.
Morgan,
G., Barriere, I. & Woll, B. (2003). First
verbs in British Sign Language development. Working Papers in Language and
Communication Science, vol. 2 pp 57-66
Morgan,
G (2003). Transcription of child sign language.
Journal of Deafness and Education International, 5: 3, 157-166.
Morgan, G.,
Herman, R. & Woll, B. (2002). The development of complex verb
constructions in BSL. Journal of Child Language, 29, 655 -675.
Morgan, G.
& Woll, B. (2002). (eds) Directions
in sign language acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins
Narrative development
Jones, A., Marshall, C.,
Botting, N., Atkinson, J., Toscana, E., Denmark, T.,
Herman, R. & Morgan, G. (2016). Narrative
skills in deaf children who use spoken English: dissociations
between macro and microstructural devices. Research in
Developmental Disabilities, 59, 268–282
Caballero,
M., Sanz-Torrent, M. & Morgan G. (2015). Desarrollo
narrativo en niños de habla Catalana: Adaptación del test
“Spider Story”
(Catalan narrative development). Poster presented at the IV Clinical Linguistics
International Congress
University of Barcelona.
Bel,
A., Ortells, M. & Morgan, G. (2014). Reference
control in the narratives of adult sign language learners.
International Journal
of Bilingualism.
Rathmann,
C., Mann, W. & Morgan, G. (2007). Narrative structure and narrative
development in deaf children. Deafness and Education International, 9,
187-196.
Morgan,
G. (2005). Transcription
of child sign language: A focus on narrative Journal of Sign Language and Linguistics, 8, 119-130
Morgan,
G. (2005). The
development of narrative in British Sign Language. In , B. Schick; M.
Marschark & P. Spencer (eds). Advances in Sign Language Development in
Deaf Children.
Oxford
University
Press
Morgan, G. & Woll, B. (2003). The development of reference
switching encoded through body classifiers in BSL. In K, Emmorey (ed), Perspectives on classifier constructions in sign languages. Mahwah, NJ :
Lawrence Erlbaum Press pp 297-310
Morgan,
G. (2002). The encoding of simultaneity in children's BSL
narratives. Journal
of Sign Language and Linguistics 5:2, 127-161.
Morgan, G. (2000). Discourse Cohesion in Sign and Speech. International
Journal of Bilingualism, 4, 279-300.
Morgan,
G. (1999). The development of discourse cohesion in
BSL. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Bristol
Morgan,
G. (1999). Event packaging in British Sign Language discourse. In E. Winston
(ed), Story Telling & Conversation: Discourse in Deaf Communities, pp 27-58.
Washington
D.C:
Galluadet
University
press.
Morgan,
G. (1999). Narrative development in British Sign Language. In C. Schelletter, C.
Letts and M. Garman (eds), Issues in Child Language: from Phonology to Narrative.
Reading
: FECS press.
Morgan,
G. (1997) Learning to use referential space in sign language discourse In K.
Bernhardt (ed), Papers in Linguistics from the Univ. Manchester 1, p145-156.
Morgan,
G. (1996) Spatial anaphoric mechanisms in British Sign
Language. In
S. Botely
(ed), Approaches to Discourse Anaphora 8,
University
of
Lancaster
press.
Morgan,
G. (1996) Discourse organisation in a British Sign Language Narrative. In E.
Pedro (ed), Discourse Analysis. Lisbon: Colibri.
Language
and Cognition
Go to
our project on early ToM development in deaf children website -
click
here
Sidera, F.; Serrat, E. & Morgan, G (in press). Understanding of Pretend Emotions in children who are deaf and hard of hearing
Journal: Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.
Morgan, G. & Dye, M. (in press). Executive Functions and Access to Language: The Importance of Intersubjectivity. In M. Marcshark & H. Knoors (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Learning and Cognition.
Kelly, C., Freeth, M., Morgan, G. & Mathews, D. (2019). The Understanding of Communicative Intentions in Children with Severe-to-Profound Hearing Loss. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
Jones, A., Marshall, C., Botting, N. St Clair, M., Atkinson, J. and Morgan, G. (2019). Expressive vocabulary predicts non-verbal executive function: a 2-year longitudinal study of deaf and hearing children. Child Development, This is the 2 year follow up on a sub-group of the Botting et al (2016) paper below.
Sidera, F.; Serrat, E.,; Amadó, A. & Morgan, G (2018). Emotion recognition skills in children with hearing loss. What is the role of language? In Atypical Language Development in Romance Languages (2018) edited by Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla, Lucía Buil-Legaz, Raül López-Penadés, Víctor Sánchez-Azanza & Daniel Adrover-Roig (eds).
Marshall, C., Fastelli A., Jones, A., Botting, N., Atkinson-Hearn, J. & Morgan, G. (in press).
Semantic fluency in deaf children who use spoken and signed language, in comparison to hearing peers
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders.
Morgan, G., Meristo, M.
& Hjelmquist, E. (in press). Conversational experience, language
and the development of Theory of Mind. In V. Slaughter (ed). Environmental
Influences on Theory of Mind Development:
Festschrift for Candi Peterson. Psychology
Press.
Botting, N., Jones, A., Marshall, C., Denmark, T., Atkinson,
J., & Morgan, G. (2016).
Non-verbal
executive function is mediated by language: A study of deaf
and hearing children. Child
Development
Marshall C, Jones A,
Denmark T, Mason K, Atkinson J, Botting N and Morgan G (2015).
Deaf
children's non-verbal working memory is impacted by their
language experience. Front. Psychol. 6:527.
Morgan, G. (in press).
Social-cognition for learning as a deaf student. In H. Knoors
& M. Marschark. Educating Deaf Students: Creating a Global
Evidence Base. Oxford University Press.
I did an interview a while ago on what is Theory of mind and why it relates to deafness (the basics). Here it is
Morgan,
G. Meristo,
M., Mann, W., Hjelmquist, E., Surian, L., & Siegal, M. (2014). Mental
state language and quality of conversational experience in deaf and hearing
children. Cognitive Development, 29, 41–49
Meristo, M., Morgan, G., Geraci,
A., Iozzi, L., Hjelmquist, E., Surian, L., & Siegal, M.
(2014). Belief
attribution in deaf and hearing infants. Developmental
Science.
I
was asked to talk about this paper in a web interview - here that is
Meristo,.
M., Hjelmquist, E., & Morgan, G. (2012). How access to language affects
theory of mind in deaf children. In M. Siegal & L. Surian (Eds.).
Access to language and cognitive development.
New York
:
Oxford
University
Press. (pp. 44–61)
Herman, R.
& Morgan, G. (2011). Deafness,
Language and Communication. in K. Hilari and N. Botting (eds). The
Impact of Communication Disability Across the Lifespan. J&R Press Ltd,
Guildford
,
UK
.
Meristo
et al. (2010). Belief-attribution
in deaf and hearing infants: Evidence
for the importance of conversational input. Opening
Conference of the Cognitive Development Center, January 15-16 2010,
Budapest, Hungary
Morgan,
G. & Kegl, J. (2006)
. Nicaraguan
Sign Language and Theory of Mind: The issue of Critical Periods and Abilities.
Journal
of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 811-819.
A
video of an introductory talk on ToM and deafness University
of Athens 27.1.12
Atypical
Language
Development
Herman, R, Shield, A. & Morgan, G. (2019). Sign language development in deaf children with language impairments and autism spectrum disorders. In Manual Sign Acquisition in Children with Developmental Disabilities (N. Grove & K. Launonen, Eds). Pp 133-151
Mann,
W., Peña, E., & Morgan, G. (2018). Child
Modifiability as Predictor of Language Abilities in Deaf
Children who use American Sign Language. American Journal of
Speech-Language Pathology
Marshall, C.
& Morgan, G. (2018). Investigating sign language
development, delay and disorder in deaf children. In M.
Marschark & P. Spencer. The Oxford Handbook of Deaf
Studies in Language: Research, Policy, and Practice.
Marshall,
C.,
JA, KM, K.R, B.W, & Morgan,
G. (2016).
Sentence
repetition in deaf children with specific language impairment
in British Sign Language. Language Learning and Development.
Mann,
W., Peña, E. & Morgan, G. (2014). Exploring
the Use of Dynamic Language Assessment with Deaf Children who
use American Sign Language: Two Case Studies. Journal of
Communication Disorders.
Herman,
R., Rowley, K., Mason, K. & Morgan,
G. (2014). Deficits
in narrative abilities in child British Sign Language users
with specific language
impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication
Disorders, 49, 343-353
Herman,
R., JA, KM, K.R, B.W, & Morgan,
G. (2014). Profiling
and profiling SLI in Deaf children who are sign language
users. In D. Quinto-Pozos (ed). Multilingual Aspects of
Signed Language Communication and Disorder. Multilingual
Matters.
pp45-69
Marshall,
C., Rowley, K., Mason, K., Herman, R. & Morgan, G. (2012).
Lexical organization in deaf children who use British
Sign Language: Evidence from a semantic fluency
task. Journal of Child Language.
Woll,
B. & Morgan, G. (2012). Language
impairments in the development of sign: Do they reside in a
specific modality or are they modality-independent deficits?
Bilingualism, Language & Cognition, 15, 75-87.
Mason, K., Rowley, K. Marshall, C.R.,
Atkinson, J. Herman, R. Woll, B. & Morgan, G. (2010). Identifying
Specific Language Impairment in Deaf children acquiring
British Sign Language: Implications for theory and practice.
BJDP28,
33-49
Smith, N.,
Tsimpli, I.M. Morgan, G. & Woll, B. (2010). Signs of the
Savant. CUP.
Read a review on linguistlist
Morgan, G.,
Smith, N., Tsimpli, I.M. & Woll, B. (2007). Classifier learning and modality
in a polyglot savant. Lingua, 117, 7, 1339-1353
Morgan,
G., Herman. & Woll B (2007). Language impairments in sign language:
breakthroughs and puzzles. International Journal of Language and Communication
Disorders, 42, 97-105
Marshall,
C. R.
Denmark, T. & Morgan, G. (2006) Investigating the underlying causes of
SLI: a non-sign repetition test in British Sign Language. Advances in
Speech-Language Pathology 8(4): 347 – 355.
Morgan,
G. (2005). Biology
and Behaviour: Insights from the acquisition of sign language. In
A.
Cutler (ed). Twenty-First Century Psycholinguistics: Four Cornerstones.
Lawrence
Erlbaum Press.
Morgan,
G., Smith, N., Tsimpli, I.M. & Woll, B. (2002). Language against the
odds: the learning of BSL by a polyglot savant. Journal of
Linguistics, 38, 1-41
Morgan,
G., Woll, B., Smith, N, & Tsimpli, I.M. (2002). The
effects of modality on BSL development in an exceptional learner. In R.
Meier, Cormier, K. A. & Quinto, D.G.
(eds), Modality and structure in signed and spoken language.
Cambridge
University
Press. pp 422 -441
Gesture
and signs - news
on a new grant to investigate how hearing people learn sign language
Cocks, N., Byrne, S., Pritchard, M., Morgan, G. and Dipper, L. (2018), Integration of speech and gesture in aphasia. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders.
Pritchard,
M., Dipper, L., Morgan, G. & Cocks, N. (in press). The
language-gesture connection: evidence from aphasia. Clinical Linguistics &
Phonetics
Ortega,
G., & Morgan, G. (2015).
Input processing at first exposure to a sign language.
Second language research.
Pritchard,
M., Dipper, L., Morgan, G. & Cocks, N. (2015). Impaired
integration of gesture and speech in aphasia. International Journal of
Language & Communication Disorders.
Pritchard,
M., Dipper, L., Morgan, G. & Cocks, N. (2015). Language and Iconic
Gesture Use in Procedural Discourse by Speakers with Aphasia. Aphasiology
Ortega,
G. & Morgan, G. (2015. The effect of
iconicity in the mental lexicon of hearing non-signers and proficient signers:
Evidence of cross-modal priming. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 30(5),
574-585
Marshall,
C. & Morgan, G. (2015). From gesture to sign language:
Conventionalisation of classifier constructions by adult hearing learners of
British Sign Language. Topics in Cognitive Science.
Perniss,
P., Özyürek, A., & Morgan, G. (2015). The
influence of the visual modality on language structure and
language conventionalization: Insights from sign language and
gesture.
Topics in Cognitive Science.
7(1), 2-11.
Ortega,
G. & Morgan, G. (2015). Phonological development in hearing learners of
a sign language: The role of sign complexity and iconicity. Language Learning.
Orfanidou,
E., Woll, B. & Morgan, G.
(2015). Research Methods in Sign Language
Studies: A Practical Guide. Wiley-Blackwell.
Read a review here.
Sign
segmentation -
click here for more information
Orfanidou,
E., Adam, R., McQueen, S. & Morgan, G. (2015).
Segmentation of British Sign Language (BSL): Mind the gap!
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Cocks,
N., Dipper, L., Pritchard, M. & Morgan, G. (2013). The
impact of impaired semantic knowledge on spontaneous iconic gesture production.
Aphasiology
Adam,
R., Orfanidou, E., McQueen,
J & Morgan, G. (2012). Sign language comprehension:
Insights from misperceptions of different phonological
parameters. In R. Channon & H. Van der Hulst. Formational
Units in the Analysis of Signs. Ishara Press. (pp 87-106).
Cocks,
N., Morgan, G. & Kita, S. (2011). Iconic
gesture and speech integration in younger and older adults. Gesture 11, 24–39.
Dipper, L., Cocks, N., Rowe, M & Morgan,
G. (2011). What can co-speech gestures in
aphasia tell us about the relationship between language and gesture?: A single
case study of a participant with Conduction Aphasia. Gesture, 11, 2,
123–147
Cocks, N,. Dipper, L., Middleton, R. &
Morgan, G. (2011). What can iconic
gestures tell us about the language system?
A case of conduction aphasia. International Journal of Language &
Communication Disorders. 46, 423–436
Botting,
N., Riches, N., Gaynor, M., Morgan, G. (2010). Gesture production and
comprehension in children with specific language impairment. British
Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28, 51-69
Cocks,
N., Sautin, L., Kita, S., Morgan,
G. & Zlotowitz, S. (2009) Gesture and speech integration: An exploratory study of a
man with aphasia. International Journal of Language and
Communication Disorders, 44, 795-804.
Orfanidou, E.,
Adam, R., Morgan, G., & McQueen, J.M. (2010)
Segmentation in
signed and spoken language: different modalities, same
segmentation procedures. Journal of Memory and
Language v62, 272-283
Orfanidou,
E., Adam, R. McQueen, J. &
Morgan, G. (2009). Making sense of nonsense in British Sign Language (BSL):
The contribution of different phonological parameters to sign recognition. Memory
and Cognition 37, 302-315
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