Centre for Lusophone and European Literatures and Cultures as an area of specialization. It was also innovative in the way it combined the filological studies tradition with the newness of the structuralist proposals and sociology of reading. Its initial projects dealt with the study of the different Lusophone literatures, such as Portuguese literature, with special emphasis on studies regarding Camilo Castelo Branco, as well as African literature and Brazilian literature, and matters regarding sociology of reading, in a project directed by Jacinto do Prado Coelho. This established route was continued by the centre's following directors and coordinators (Fernando Cristóvão, Maria Lúcia Lepecki, Manuel Ferreira, Alberto Carvalho and Maria
Language acquisition by deaf children Language acquisition by deaf children Language acquisition by deaf children parallels the development of any children acquiring spoken language as long as there is full access to language from birth. Despite limited access to spoken language, communication and language exposure are fundamental to deaf infants' general cognitive development and their engagement with their surroundings. While a growing number of deaf children in the developed world receive hearing aids and/or cochlear implants to support spoken language acquisition there are Deaf communities around the world that use signed languages. Infants born to signing parents, or exposed immersively to fluent sign language models