This paper focuses on the basic word order of Croatian Sign Language (HZJ) and factors that permit alternative word orders to occur in sentences and in context. Although they are unrelated languages, the basic word order in HZJ is the same as in spoken Croatian: SVO. One of the factors allowing alternative word orders in context is information status (old or new), which influences constituent placement, as in other languages. HZJ has a tendency to omit old, previously mentioned information, usually the Subject, and the part that is expressed is the new information (Rheme). When old information is expressed, it appears at the beginning of the sentence, preceding the Rheme. Like other languages, HZJ word order can be influenced by the nature of the arguments (Subject, Object) as well as the type of Verb. Sentences with ‘reversible’ arguments (i.e. both are animate and could be agents) tend to use the basic word order, whereas those with nonreversible arguments allow more variable word order. Basic word order also occurs more often with plain verbs (those that do not agree with their arguments). Agreeing and spatial verbs use other word orders in addition to SVO, including the tendency to position Verbs at the end of sentences. Investigation on the interaction of word order and the grammatical usage of facial expressions and head positions (nonmanual marking) indicates that nonmanual markings have pragmatic roles, and could have syntactic functions which await further research.

This paper presents the results of research on information structure and word order in narrative sentences taken from signed short stories in Croatian Sign Language (HZJ). The basic word order in HZJ is SVO. Factors that result in other word orders include: reversible arguments, verb categories, locative constructions, contrastive focus, and prior context. Word order in context depends on communication rules, based on the relationship between old (theme) and new (rheme) information, which is predicated of the theme. In accordance with Grice's Maxim of Quantity, HZJ has a tendency to omit old information, or to reduce it to pronominal status. If old information is overtly signed in non-pronominal form, it precedes the rheme. We have observed a variety of sign language mechanisms that are used to show items of reduced contextual significance: use of assigned spatial location for previously introduced referents; eyegaze to indicate spatial location of previously introduced referents; use of the non-dominant hand for backgrounded information; use of a special category of signs known as classifiers as pronominal indicators of previously introduced referents; and complex noun phrases that allow a single occurrence of a noun to simultaneously serve multiple functions. These devices permit information to be conveyed without the need for separate signs for every referent, which would create longer constructions that could be taxing to both production and perception. The results of this research are compatible with well-known word order generalizations - HZJ has its own grammar, independent of spoken language, like any other sign language.

This paper focuses on the basic word order of Croatian Sign Language (HZJ) and factors that permit alternative word orders to occur in sentences and in context. Although they are unrelated languages, the basic word order in HZJ is the same as in spoken Croatian: SVO.One of the factors allowing alternative word orders in context is information status (old or new), which influences constituent placement, as in other languages. HZJ has a tendency to omit old, previously mentioned information, usually the Subject, and the part that is expressed is the new information (Rheme). When old information is expressed, it appears at the beginning of the sentence, preceding the Rheme.Like other languages, HZJ word order can be influenced by the nature of the arguments (Subject, Object) as well as the type of Verb. Sentences with ‘reversible’ arguments (i.e. both are animate and could be agents) tend to use the basic word order, whereas those with nonreversible arguments allow more variable word order. Basic word order also occurs more often with plain verbs (those that do not agree with their arguments). Agreeing and spatial verbs use other word orders in addition to SVO, including the tendency to position Verbs at the end of sentences.Investigation on the interaction of word order and the grammatical usage of facial expressions and head positions (nonmanual marking) indicates that nonmanual markings have pragmatic roles, and could have syntactic functions which await further research.

Sažetak:Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi zastupljenost pojedine vrste identiteta te povezanost vrste identiteta s varijablama slušnog, obrazovnog i bračnog statusa gluhih i nagluhih osoba. U istraživanju su sudjelovala 443 sudionika kronološke dobi od 18-87 godina oba spola iz 17 gradova u Republici Hrvatskoj. Za prikupljanje demografskih podataka o sudionicima konstruiran je poseban upitnik, a kulturni identitet ispitan je skalom DAS (Deaf Acculturation Scale, Maxwell-McCow i Zea, 2011). Iako je 58% sudionika pohađalo posebne oralne i redovne škole, te samo 12% njih ima gluhe roditelje, ipak ih je 80% formiralo ili gluhi (48%), ili dvokulturni (32%) identitet. Čujući identitet imalo je 12% sudionika, a marginalni 8% njih, što se pretežno podudara s rezultatima drugih istraživanja. S kulturnim identitetom značajno je povezan stupanj oštećenja sluha (nagluhe osobe češće od gluhih imaju čujući, dvokulturni ili marginalni identitet); vrijeme nastanka oštećenja sluha (osobe s prelingvalnim oštećenjem sluha tendiraju formiranju gluhog, dvokulturnog ili marginalnog identiteta, a osobe s postlingvalnim oštećenjem tendiraju čujućem identitetu); dob u kojoj je započelo učenje znakovnoga jezika (osobe s čujućim identitetom počele su ga učiti u dobi od 24 godine, ostali u dobi od 8-13 godina); obrazovni status (najvišu razinu obrazovanja postižu osobe s čujućim i dvokulturnim identitetom); vrsta osnovne škole (sudionici iz posebnih škola tendiraju gluhom ili dvokulturnom identitetu; u odnosu na njih sudionici iz redovnih škola značajno češće formiraju čujući identitet; sudionici iz posebne škole s oralnim pristupom gotovo dvostruko češće imaju marginalni identitet); vrsta srednje škole (polaznici redovnih škola češće od onih iz posebne škole formiraju čujući identitet, a oni iz posebne škole češće gluhi identitet), bračni status (najviše je osoba bez partnera među osobama s čujućim i marginalnim identitetom) te slušni status partnera (osobe s gluhim identitetom preferiraju gluhe, a one s čujućim identitetom čujuće partnere). Slušni status roditelja nije se pokazao povezanim s vrstom kulturnog identiteta sudionika. Razmatraju se praktične implikacije dobivenih rezultata.Ključne riječi: gluhoća, nagluhost, kulturni identitet, kultura Gluhih 1 Istraživanje je provedeno u okviru znanstvenog projekta "Dvojezična komunikacija gluhih i čujućih", poduprtog od strane MZOŠ RH UVODKulturni identitet označava osjećaj pripadnosti određenoj kulturi -zajednici koja dijeli isti jezik, povijest, običaje, vrijednosti, koja, uz ostalo, ima svoj kulturno-specifičan obrazovni sustav, umjetničko stvaralaštvo i organizacije.

Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi kako učenici oštećena sluha, polaznici osnovne škole, vladaju prezentom glagola s obzirom na slušni status, vrstu škole i razred koji pohađaju. Ispitivanjem su obuhvaćeni gluhi učenici s klasičnim slušnim pomagalima, nagluhi učenici i učenici s umjetnom pužnicom (UP), polaznici od trećeg do osmog razreda dviju redovnih i dviju posebnih škola za djecu oštećena sluha u Zagrebu. Prosječna uspješnost rješavanja zadataka bila je 63%. Najbolji rezultati postignuti su u kategoriji glagolskih razreda ATI -am, ATI -šem, ITI -im i JETI -im, a najlošiji u kategoriji razreda NUTI -nem i VATI -jem. Slušnooštećeni učenici bolje vladaju licima u jednini nego u množini. Posebne teškoće čine im 3. i 2. lice množine. Nagluhi ispitanici postigli su značajno bolje rezultate na testu u odnosu na gluhe ispitanike i ispitanike s UP-om. Ispitanici s UP-om nisu postigli značajno bolje rezultate ni na jednoj varijabli u odnosu na gluhe ispitanike s klasičnim pomagalima. Ispitanici iz redovnih škola postigli su bolje rezultate od učenika iz posebne škole internatskog tipa, ali ne i od učenika iz posebne dnevne škole za gluhu djecu. Također nisu utvrđene razlike u rezultatima na testu s obzirom na razred koji ispitanici pohađaju. Razmatraju se sličnosti u ovladavanju prezentom glagola između slušnooštećenih osnovnoškolaca, srednjoškolaca i stranaca koji uče hrvatski kao drugi/strani jezik.