It's a small world of signs: Semantic network structure in American Sign Language based on free associations
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Semantic network analyses have shown that words in spoken languages are organized into efficient "small-world" structures that support rapid lexical access and retrieval. However, little is known about whether similar organizational principles generalize to sign languages. We present the first large-scale analysis of semantic network structure in American Sign Language (ASL) using a free semantic association task. Deaf ASL signers (N = 45) produced three associations to 2,714 cue signs drawn from ASL-LEX, resulting in almost 100,000 cue–response pairs. We constructed (a) directed associative networks based on cue-response relationships and (b) undirected conceptual similarity networks based on cue–to-cue cosine similarity and compared ASL with English using matched subsets of the Small World of Words norms. We estimated network statistics and evaluated network topology using bootstrapping and degree-preserving random graphs. Both languages exhibited small-world organization indicating similar pressures on efficient semantic organization across language modalities. However, the languages differed in topology. Across network types, ASL exhibited longer average path lengths, and in conceptual similarity networks, lower clustering, suggesting reduced integration. In associative networks, ASL showed lower modularity, while in the conceptual similarity networks, ASL showed higher modularity than English, indicating a more compartmentalized semantic space. Further, more frequent signs occupied denser and more diverse semantic neighborhoods, whereas iconic signs exhibited fewer semantic connections and lower response diversity. These findings suggest that semantic memory is shaped by modality-independent organizational principles while also reflecting language-specific network topologies and structural pressures. The dataset and tools provide a basis for future cross-linguistic investigations.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Institution: Boston University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214437515