Realizations of syntactic agreement in American sign language: Similarities between the clause and the noun phrase

Abstract

ASL syntax makes essential use of specific non-manual expressions of syntactic features (e.g., +neg, +wh) that co-occur with manual signs. These markings occur obligatorily with manual material contained in the node of origin and optionally extend over the c-command domain of that node, thus providing important evidence for hierarchical structure. In this article, we show that agreement features, both within the clause and the noun phrase, also have non-manual correlates that exhibit the predicted distribution. Interestingly, transitive IPs and possessive DPs pattern together in their manifestation of agreement marking, while intransitive IPs pattern with non-possessive DPs.

Sensing the rhythms of everyday life: Temporal integration and tactile translation in the Seattle Deaf-Blind community

“… 5 In an article on deixis in American Sign Language, Scott Liddell recounts a long-standing debate in sign language linguistics about the status of pointing as governed by linguistic or nonlinguistic principles (e.g. Fischer 1975; Klima & Bellugi 1979; Kegl 1985; Poizner, Klima, & Bellugi 1987; Bahan 1996; Neidle, Bahan, MacLaughlin, Lee, & Kegl 1998). Generative approaches, like the ones Liddell frames his work in opposition to, have analyzed spatio-temporal aspects of pointing, classifier constructions, body posture, and eye gaze as linguistic.…”

Introduction to the Special Issue: Learning Sign Languages as Additional Languages: Considering Language‐ and Modality‐Specific Factors

“…Eye gaze is another non-manual articulation of sign languages, although there is debate in studies of deaf signers about when it is used (Emmorey, et al, 2009;Neidle et al, 2000;Thompson et al, 2006). One cannot overstate the importance of non-manual articulations when using a sign language.…”

“…Non‐manual signals also provide syntactic information, such as indicating which signs in a sequence constitute the topic of a sentence (e.g., with co‐occurring eyebrow configurations) or which parts of a sentence are modified by negation. Eye gaze is another non‐manual articulation of sign languages, although there is debate in studies of deaf signers about when it is used (Emmorey, et al., 2009; Neidle et al., 2000; Thompson et al., 2006). One cannot overstate the importance of non‐manual articulations when using a sign language.…”

Syntax and prosodic consequences in ASL

“…Prosodic nonmanual markings in ASL are understood to overlap with the syntax (Baker & Padden 1978;Liddell 1978Liddell , 1986Padden 1988;Petronio 1993;Neidle et al 1998aNeidle et al , 2000Sandler & Lillo-Martin 2006). Nonmanuals are especially salient at intonational phrase boundaries, where they reliably mark phrasal domains (Baker & Padden 1978;Petronio 1993;Wilbur 1994;Sandler & Lillo-Martin 2006).…”