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Learners of a second language (L2) commonly rely on their first language (L1) to break into the novel linguistic system. But what happens when the target L2 is a sign language? One would expect that due to the modality differences between spoken (oral-aural) and sign languages (manual-visual), sign L2 learners would lack a system that could alleviate some of the burden to learn the target language. However, hearing non-signers have at their disposal a repertoire of gestures which are expressed in the same modality as signs and share the property of iconicity, i.e., the direct relationship between form and meaning. In many instances signs and gestures may overlap in form and meaning due to their iconic links to the concept they represent. In this talk, I will present behavioural and electrophysiological evidence showing that at the earliest stages of sign L2 learning, hearing adults fall back on their gestural representation to access the meaning of signs never seen before. I will argue that iconic gestures may function as ‘manual cognates’ that assist making form-meaning associations with a novel sign L2 lexicon.
