{"title":"Tok Pisin metalanguage: why is Sinasina Sign Language not tok (‘language’)?","authors":"Samantha Rarrick","doi":"10.1016/j.langsci.2023.101611","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Linguists recognize that sign languages are highly complex linguistic systems which meet all the criteria used to define a ‘language’. My ongoing language documentation with the Kere community in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and their local languages, Kere, and Sinasina Sign Language (SSSL), suggests that the English word ‘language’ is not a direct correlate of the Tok Pisin words <em>tok</em> or <em>tok ples</em>, as the current literature suggests. Drawing on interviews and collaboration with Kere people, I explore the culturally specific concepts and functions embedded in Tok Pisin metalanguage, focusing on differences between <em>tok, tok ples, aksen</em>, and ‘language’. Unlike spoken Kere, SSSL is <em>aksen</em>, not <em>tok</em> or <em>tok ples</em> because sociocultural functions are core to the meaning of <em>tok</em>, which only refers to spoken languages, unlike ‘language’. Understanding these differences is essential for translation and for further research with sign languages in PNG. This analysis of <em>tok, tok ples,</em> aksen, and ‘language’ also highlights the reality that ‘language’ is not a universal concept and there is a need for more research to unpack what ‘language’ means across languages and cultures.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51592,"journal":{"name":"Language Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000123000761/pdfft?md5=3b8120ffef7ae976eb75f13589ef27ac&pid=1-s2.0-S0388000123000761-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Language Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000123000761","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Linguists recognize that sign languages are highly complex linguistic systems which meet all the criteria used to define a ‘language’. My ongoing language documentation with the Kere community in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and their local languages, Kere, and Sinasina Sign Language (SSSL), suggests that the English word ‘language’ is not a direct correlate of the Tok Pisin words tok or tok ples, as the current literature suggests. Drawing on interviews and collaboration with Kere people, I explore the culturally specific concepts and functions embedded in Tok Pisin metalanguage, focusing on differences between tok, tok ples, aksen, and ‘language’. Unlike spoken Kere, SSSL is aksen, not tok or tok ples because sociocultural functions are core to the meaning of tok, which only refers to spoken languages, unlike ‘language’. Understanding these differences is essential for translation and for further research with sign languages in PNG. This analysis of tok, tok ples, aksen, and ‘language’ also highlights the reality that ‘language’ is not a universal concept and there is a need for more research to unpack what ‘language’ means across languages and cultures.
期刊介绍:
Language Sciences is a forum for debate, conducted so as to be of interest to the widest possible audience, on conceptual and theoretical issues in the various branches of general linguistics. The journal is also concerned with bringing to linguists attention current thinking about language within disciplines other than linguistics itself; relevant contributions from anthropologists, philosophers, psychologists and sociologists, among others, will be warmly received. In addition, the Editor is particularly keen to encourage the submission of essays on topics in the history and philosophy of language studies, and review articles discussing the import of significant recent works on language and linguistics.