Current issues in sign language linguistics Day 2

1
Current issues in sign language
linguisticsDay 2

• LOT Summer School 2006
• Universiteit van Amsterdam
• Josep Quer (ICREA UB)

2
Pointing

• Form
• Handshape 1
• Movement Hold syllable
• Movement straight
• Orientation radial side (thumb) up

3
Identifying pointings
JOAN IXa BOOK 3a.GIVE.1 Ixa 3a.TELL.1 IX1
TOMORROW IXb EVA 1.GIVE.3b BECAUSE IXb INTERESTED
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Identifying pointings
HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS IXb HOLY-WEEK IX1 LIKE MORE IXa
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Pointing without pointings
WOMAN WHO
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Pointing

• Deictic interpretation
• Spatial (HERE, THERE)
• Temporal (TODAY)
• Reference to individuals
• Grammatical categories
• Determiner/Demonstrative
• Pronoun
• Adverbial

7
Pointing LSC example

• _________________t ________________________
  ____RS-i
• IXa MADRIDm MOMENT JOAN i THINK IX-1i STUDY
  FINISH HEREb
• When he was in Madrid, Joan thought he would
  finish his study in Barcelona.

8
Determiner vs adverbial in ASL

• Pointings in DP (Neidle et al. 2000, MacLaughlin
  1997)
• prenominal Determiner (definite)
• postnominal Adverbial
• IXdet BOY IXadv LIKE CHOCOLATE
• JOHN LIVE IXadv

9
Determiner vs adverbial in ASL

• Cet homme-là (French)
• Den mannen der (Norwegian)
• This here dog (English dialects)

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ASL Definite DP

• ___far
• JOHNj jGIVEk IXdetk MAN IXadv NEW COAT
• John gave the man way over there a new coat.
• ftp//csr.bu.edu/asl/sequences/compressed/master/c
  h6-528_344_small_0.mov

11
SL Pronouns Form

• Crosslinguistically realized by an index pointing
  to present referents

I
you
s/he
12
SL Pronouns Form

• Non-present referents are localized in signing
  space by
• pointing
• eye gaze
• sign articulated at a certain point
• An unambiguous referential locus is established

13
SL Pronouns Features

• Spoken language pronouns may encode person,
  number, gender, distance/proximity, kinship
  status, social status, case, and tense.
• SL pronouns are generally claimed to encode
  person features, sometimes number features.
• How many person distinctions? There are no fixed
  loci for 2nd or 3rd person.

14
SL Pronouns Features
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SL Pronouns Features

• Number marking?
• Plural referents that are viewed as a group are
  treated as one locus

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SL Pronouns Features

• Number marking?
• Otherwise the loci of plural referents are used

collective
distributive
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SL Pronouns Features

• Number marking?
• Numeral incorporation

the three of them (LSF)
18
SL Pronouns Features

• Number marking?
• Dual

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SL Pronouns Features
? Inclusive/Exclusive (Cormier 2002)
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Pronouns Typology

• Peculiarities
• - Gender marking across persons in the singular
  in Nagala- Lack of number marking in Asheninca
  vs. rich number marking in Nogogu- Extensive
  kinship marking in Aranda

21
Pronominal Reference

• ? Potentially infinite number of pronominal forms
  for 3rd person singular
• Inclusive/exclusive distinction in 1st plural
• Rich system of number marking? Arguments against
  treating trial, quadruple etc. as true
  grammatical number marking
• Etymological relation to numerals
• Non-obligatory

22
SL Specificity

• Typological homogeneity/uniformity
• Morphophonological exclusivity a subset of
  phonemes (locations) is used for referential
  purposes only
• Highly unusual morphological paradigm
• High degree of referential specificity
  non-arbitrary relation between form meaning

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Account (McBurney 2002)

• The medium (channel) of language time vs. space
• Pronominal reference in sign languages is
  medium-driven high degree of conceptual
  iconicity
• The category number is lexically marked in SL but
  the category person is not
• Pronouns are a combination of linguistic and
  gestural elements
• Lack of gender marking in SL

24
Person marking

• No distinctions (Ahlgren 1990, Lillo-Martin
  Klima 1990)
• First, second, third (Friedman 1975, Padden
  1983/88)
• First vs. nonfirst (Meier 1990, Engberg-Pedersen
  1993)
• Nonfirst person can be further subclassified into
  many distinct person values (Neidle et al. 2000)

25
Alternative analysisLiddell

• Spatial locations used for pronominal reference
  are not phonologically specifiable.
• Pronouns as combination of linguistic and
  gestural elements
• Handshape, orientation, movement describable
  using discrete linguistic features
• Direction and endpoint of movement gestural

26
Alternative analysisLiddell

• Directing pronouns toward mental representations
  (not grammatical ones) is not controlled by
  phonological features, but by the ability to
  point.

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Pronoun acquisition

• Pronouns (Petitto 1987)
• 6-12 months pointings
• Avoidance
• 21-23 months pronoun reversal
• 25-27 months target production

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Pronoun acquisition
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Pronoun acquisition

• Blondel Tuller (2005) development of pointing
  in a bilingual LSF/French child
• At 19 months, the child uses the first
  combinations of pointing to an animate referent
  and a predicate
• PTgtherself GO

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Pronoun acquisition

• Also pointing to non-present referents as onset
  of pronominal use
• GRANDPA PTgtdoor WORK 
• First co-occurrence of pointing and French
  pronouns
• PTgtherself PTgtpicture / oh et là-bas cest moi
  oh! and there, its me

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Pronoun acquisition

• French pronouns emerge at this same stage
• Pointing gestures serve as precursors to more
  complex syntax
• Pointing gestures have acquired pronominal status
  at this time

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Bound pronouns?

• __________________________________________t
• ALUMNE CADA-UN PROFESSOR CONC RESPECTAR
• pupil each teacher AGR redup respect
• Each pupil respects his/her teacher.

33
Bound pronouns?

• _________________________________ RS-i
• ___________t __________eg1__________________
  egfront
• ALUMNE CADAi PENSARVEURE-refl IX-1i
  INTELLIGENT MÉS-TOT
• pupil each thinksee.refl I intelligent
  superlative
• Every pupil thinks that he is the most
  intelligent.
• (LSC, Quer 2005)