Sign Language Linguistics 318 - short summary, covers sociolinguistics, phonology, morphology & Syntax (this is ideal for quick revision, instead of learning 20 plus pages)
Syntax
Word order has a functional aspect, the order provides information about the
combination of words which guide interpretation of the sentence
Argument configurational à ordering relations between verbs and its arguments
Discourse configurational à word order to mark information structure distinctions
such as focus and topic
Basic word order: most neutral, frequent, simple declarative active clauses, that
requires the simplest syntactic description, accompanied by the least morphological
marking
SASL basic word order à SOV/OSV
Different types of sentences:
Non-reversible (more variation)
Reversible (basic word order more common)
Locatives (positions entities in relation to one another – figure-ground principle)
Pronominalization à the use of a pronoun to refer to a previously mention referent
(anaphoric- arbitrary location) or a referent that is present (deictic- actual location) =
first person pronouns (INDEX1) or Spatial Loci for pronominal reference (INDEX2,3/
1ASK3)
Pro-drop à no articulation of the pronoun but the referent is clear via verb agreement
(BOOK 1GIVE3)
Topic-drop à no articulation of the topic but can be inferred from context
“Pronoun Copy” à pointing sign referring to subject/agent is already mentioned in the
sentence (MAN INDEX3 COFFEE ORDER INDEX3)
Negation = form of non-manual marking, manual negation marker (optional &
tendency to occur at end of sentence) (manual dominate or non-manual dominate)
and scope of non-manual marking
Non-manual markings à headshake, headturn, head-tilt and head-nod (affirmation)
Doubling à negative markers are doubled in structures with an emphatic
interpretation (ANN CAN’T READ CAN’T)
Negation in SASL = non-manual dominate, post-verbal position of optional manual
marker, min scope of non-manual negator (headshake), max scope over VP and
manual negator
Negation and affirmation fall under Polarity of a sentence
Sign language differ in negation = position of the particle & scope of headshake
Information structure consist of = given vs new information & topic vs focus
Focus à determines which part of the sentence contributes new information
1
, Made by: Daryan vdw
Information focus à the part of the utterance that introduces new information
into the discourse (answer to wh-question – INDEX1 READ ROMANCE BOOKS)
Contrastive focus à one or more alternatives to the focused expression (JOHN
NOT-LIKE MARY, JANE INDEX3 LOVE)
Emphatic focus à sentence describes something unexpected (MUST GO-
WORK MUST)
Topic à what is being talked about, give information (sentence-initial position)
Topicalization à grammatical operation where the tropicalized constituent is placed
at the being of the sentence (non-manual marker of “top” or “t”
Two types = non-tropicalized part can stand on its own or topicalized part is
an integral part of the sentence ___top
Topics can be based-generated (MARY, JOHN LIKE INDEX3)
Topics can be moved from an argument position (MARY, JOHN LOVE)
Adjuncts can also occur in topic position (TOMORROW, JOHN PLACE ARRIVE)
Indirect speech vs direct speech in SL is done via role shift via non-manual
markers (body shift)
Types of Complex sentences:
1.Coordination à combination of several main clauses
§ Conjuncts can occur independently
§ Use of manual conjunctions & body leans
§ Ellipsis – omit elements that occur in both conjuncts
§ Adversative (contrast), conjunctive (connect) & disjunctive (choice)
2.Subordination à main clause and an embedded clause (such as Complement
clause, Adverbial clause & Relative clause)
§ Complement clause à embedded clause is obligatory part of sentence
o often the constituent order in a complement clause has the same order
in a main clause thus it is difficult to differentiate between the main
clause and the embedded clause (“set apart” via non-manual marking or
intonation breaks) – verb is usually in final position (SOV) but complement
clause follows verb in main clause (extraposition)
§ Adverbial clause à embedded clause is optional, specifies certain
circumstance and details of an event (time, location, purpose, conditions)
o Temporal clauses (adverbs, NP, PP) – eyebrow raise & pause (,) & always
at beginning
o Casual /purpose clause (directed causal conjunction – BECAUSE &
REASON)
§ Pseudo cleft (express focus i.e. new info)
2
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