Language research and language community change: Italian Sign Language 1981-2013

By providing evidence that sign language is an autonomous language, research has contributed to various changes both within and beyondthesigning communities. The aim of this paper is to show an example of how sign language change is driven not only by language internal factors but also by changes in language perception, as well as inthe changing groups of users and the contexts of use.Drawing from data collected at a sign language research center in Italy on Italian Sign Language during a time span of over thirty years, the present study will show how language researchwas a major impetus for a new linguistic awareness and changes in language attitude hasinfluenced new linguistic practices and hasforcedItalian signers to think about rules governing the use of their language.