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Article published In: Sign Language & Linguistics
Vol. 28:2 (2025) ► pp.208–262

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The use of constructed action and its relationship with age and sign language development among children acquiring Finnish Sign Language

ORCiD logo with link | University of Jyväskylä
ORCiD logo with link | University of Jyväskylä
ORCiD logo with link | University of Jyväskylä
Published online: 21 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sll.24016.kan
Abstract
Children’s use of constructed action (CA) has been linked to language as well as cognitive and social development, but the relationship among these aspects is not yet well understood. This research explores children’s use of CA in their produced narratives and how its use relates to children’s age and Finnish Sign Language (FinSL) skills. Twenty-one children aged 4 to 10 years who had acquired FinSL from early childhood onwards participated in the study. The children’s use of CA was elicited and analysed in still-image story pictures and video-based materials. The association between children’s use of CA and FinSL skills was analysed in terms of comprehension and production of FinSL vocabulary, grammatical structures, and narrative skills assessed with different assessment tools. The results revealed that children’s use of CA was associated with their age and all aspects of FinSL skills. The more the children combined enactment with co-occurring lexicalised elements, the greater proficiency was required in different aspects of language skills. These findings offer a deeper understanding of how CA and FinSL skills are related, thereby supporting previous suggestions on CA’s role in language acquisition.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.CA, gestures, and embodiment in children’s language and narratives
    • 2.1Narrative development of children
    • 2.2Children’s use of CA in narratives
    • 2.3CA in children’s language assessment
  • 3.Data and methods
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Data for the analysis of CA
    • 3.3Annotating and analysing children’s use of CA
    • 3.4Data for the analysis of children’s FinSL skills
    • 3.5Statistical analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Use of CA in two different narrative tasks and its relation to age
    • 4.2The relationship between children’s use of CA and FinSL language skills
      • 4.2.1Association between children’s use of CA and vocabulary skills
      • 4.2.2Association between children’s use of CA and receptive grammatical skills
      • 4.2.3Association between children’s use of CA and narrative skills
      • 4.2.4Association between children’s use of CA and produced grammatical elements
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Children’s use of CA and its association with their age
    • 5.2The association between children’s use of CA and FinSL skills
    • 5.3Methodological remarks
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • References
References (89)
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