Mariana Martins is a PhD student at the Centre for Linguistics. Overall I am passionate by the Deaf community. As a linguist, sign languages linguistics was the natural life path. As having grown up in Africa, studying African sign languages is living the dream. Also, I am eager to give back, so as a Portuguese language teacher of the deaf, I hope that my research outcomes may strengthen deaf people's education in some way.

More information about Mariana Sousa da Silva Martins

Fields of interest

Sign Language Linguistics
African Sign Languages
Deaf Education
Deaf Ethnography
Sign Language Syntax

Research 

My PhD research is about the morphosyntactic complexity of the emerging sign language of Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa, which I have been lucky to witness since it began in 2004. In Portugal I have been working at the Portuguese Deaf Association, teaching (written) Portuguese to Deaf adults and training Deaf Portuguese Sign Language Teachers.
I have done two Masters in Lisbon, one on Deaf Culture and Identity and the other on teaching Portuguese syntax to deaf students.

CV

1999-2001: Research grant in a Portuguese Sign Language project, at the Lisbon University.
2002-2018: Teaching Portuguese to Deaf adults and training Deaf Portuguese Sign Language Teachers, at the Portuguese Deaf Association.

Key publications

Martins, Mariana and Marta Morgado. 2017. Dicionário Prático de Língua Gestual Guineense. Lisbon: Surd’Universo.

Martins, Mariana and Marta Morgado. 2016. Deaf communities in Portuguese - speaking African countries (pp. 136-154), in García, Barbara Gerner and Lodenir Becker Karnopp (orgs.) Change and promise: Bilingual deaf education and deaf culture in latin America. Washington DC.: Gallaudet University Press.

Martins, Mariana, José Pedro Ferreira and Ana Mineiro. 2012. Os dicionários e os avatares gestuais. Coleção Língua Gestual Portuguesa, n.º 21. Lisbon: Universidade Católica Editora.

Martins, Mariana and Marta Morgado. 2008. Dicionário Escolar da Língua Gestual Guineense. Lisbon: Surd’Universo.

Martins, Mariana, Marta Morgado, Helena Carmo, Paula Estanqueiro and Fátima Cavaca. 2008. Programa Curricular de Língua Gestual Portuguesa para a Educação Pré-Escolar e o Ensino Básico. Lisbon: Ministry of Education.

Martins, Mariana, Marta Morgado, Paula Estanqueiro and Fátima Cavaca. 2008. Programa Curricular de Língua Gestual Portuguesa para o Ensino Secundário. Lisbon: Ministry of Education.