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Volume 26, Issue 2, 2023
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Strategies for new word formation in NGT
Author(s): Els van der Kooij, Inge Zwitserlood and Onno Crasbornpp.: 176–217 (42)More LessAbstractHow do new words arise in a sign language? We present an empirical study of newly formed words in Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT). Five signers were asked to create new forms for known concepts for which word forms exist in NGT. Participants used sequential strategies for word formation, also found in spoken languages. More frequently, however, they used simultaneous strategies, some of which are unique for the visual-manual modality. We describe and discuss each strategy and focus on the most prominent of these, namely the simultaneous combination of meaningful form elements (Form-Meaning Units or FMUs). The abundance of simultaneous combinations of FMUs in our data cannot be explained in terms of concatenative morphology. We propose an account for word formation phenomena in NGT that uses the phonological segment as the template for simultaneous combinations of FMUs. This study shows that the FMUs function as basic building blocks for words and accordingly can be considered morphemes. Given the large set of FMUs in NGT and their frequent occurrence in the newly formed lexical words in our data, we argue for the acknowledgement of more morphological complexity within the lexicon of sign languages and for a re-evaluation of the relation between sign language phonology, morphology, and syntax.
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Variation of sign parameters in narrative and expository discourse
Author(s): Shirit Cohen-Koka, Bracha Nir and Irit Meirpp.: 218–257 (40)More LessAbstractThe paper presents an in-depth study of variation in sign parameters of Israeli Sign Language (ISL). We describe and analyze specific sign parameters and their sub-parameters: handshape, orientation, place of articulation, and movement, as they are distributed in two text-types: narrative and expository discourse. A group of 16 deaf native ISL signers produced 32 texts containing a total of 6,875 signs which were then analyzed from a bottom-up approach. A sub-set of 3,919 signs out of this large database (excluding signs that are inherently variable) were found eligible for the detailed distributional analysis of text-dependent variation in terms of their articulation structure, and were used for comparison between the narrative and expository productions. Our findings show that narratives attract more variation in the sign parameters compared to expository texts. The study thus highlights the impact of communicative context on the use of signs.
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Wh-doubling in German Sign Language
Author(s): Fabian Brosspp.: 258–275 (18)More LessAbstractWh-doubling is a widely attested phenomenon in sign languages. Several analyses are found in the literature assuming, for example, base-generation of one of the doubles or making (heavy) use of remnant movement. Using data from German Sign Language, this article discusses the possibility that the structure might be derived from a relative clause embedded under a wh-question which finally undergoes sluicing. It will be argued that such an account correctly predicts the distribution of the wh-phrases found in German Sign Language doubling constructions.
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Units of sub-sign meaning in NGT
Author(s): Inge Zwitserlood, Els van der Kooij and Onno Crasbornpp.: 276–322 (47)More LessAbstractThis paper provides an overview of all the meaningful sub-sign form units (form-meaning units; FMUs) in lexical signs in Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT). We investigated the potential meaning of all form features that were previously established in analyses of NGT form by analyzing their distribution in lexical signs. The data set consisted of 500 NGT signs in the lexical database Global Signbank, and a set of 163 elicited newly-formed lexical signs. All features in these data sets appear to bear meaning (at least once). No completely arbitrary features were found, and some features appeared to be always associated to a specific meaning. This toolkit and the set of FMUs in NGT provides a possible basis for cross-linguistic study and for a more fine-grained approach in various research disciplines, for instance psycholinguistics and acquisition, and it may thus advance the theoretical and applied study of sign languages.
Volumes & issues
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Volume 26 (2023)
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Volume 25 (2022)
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Volume 24 (2021)
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Volume 23 (2020)
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Volume 22 (2019)
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Volume 21 (2018)
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Volume 20 (2017)
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Volume 19 (2016)
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Volume 18 (2015)
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Volume 17 (2014)
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Volume 16 (2013)
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Volume 15 (2012)
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Volume 14 (2011)
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Volume 13 (2010)
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Volume 12 (2009)
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Volume 11 (2008)
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Volume 10 (2007)
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Volume 9 (2006)
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Volume 8 (2005)
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Volume 7 (2004)
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Volume 6 (2003)
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Volume 5 (2002)
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Volume 4 (2001)
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Volume 3 (2000)
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Volume 2 (1999)
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Volume 1 (1998)
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Rethinking constructed action
Author(s): Kearsy Cormier, Sandra Smith and Zed Sevcikova-Sehyr
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The ASL lexicon
Author(s): Carol A. Padden
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