Sign languages are the only natural languages that can still be caught in the act of being born. The emergence of new languages raises significant questions about the essential elements of the human language faculty and the development of language within a society. These issues were the content of a CONFERENCE ON NASCENT LANGUAGES at the Rockefeller Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy. October 4-9, 2006.

The meeting, sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation, brought together scholars working on nascent languages — Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language, Nicaraguan Sign Language, and Home Sign — with a select group of scientists who are deeply involved in key scientific issues of our times: language evolution, gesture, semantics, pidgin and creole studies, language acquisition, and computational neuroscience.

The conference was organized by lab director Wendy Sandler.
Click on this link to see the Program
Click on this link to see the Pictures from the Conference