{"title":"Temporal Affixation in Polish Sign Language","authors":"P. Tomaszewski, Wiktor Eźlakowski","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0016","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:The following article undertakes another analysis of affixation in Polish Sign Language (PJM). This time the question concerns affixes carrying temporal significance. In a previous issue of this journal, negative affixation in PJM was discussed. As it turns out, in addition to these negative morphemes, PJM also possesses suffixes that relate to time: year, day, hour, minute and second. It has been observed that these affixes have undergone partial or complete grammaticalization. As discussed in this paper, there are some restrictions on the use of temporal suffixes, which are caused by numeral incorporation. In addition to these affixes, there are also two morphemes in PJM, which do not represent a time measure. One of these signifies the completion of an educational stage and the other refers to the future performance of an action.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"22 1","pages":"106 - 130"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46684784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toponymy in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language): Formal and Semantic-Motivational Analysis of the Signs that Name the Cities of Acre","authors":"Alexandre Melo De Sousa, R. D. de Quadros","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0015","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Naming spaces is a human act and reflects traces of the culture and social group to which the person who names a place belongs, either in spoken or sign languages. This article presents an analysis of the toponyms in Libras that name the cities of the state of Acre. The toponyms were stored in digital files proposed by Sousa and Quadros (2019), and analyzed regarding the structure of the toponym in Libras and the semantic-motivational aspects that influenced the person to name a place. The study follows Sousa's (2019) methodological proposal, which is an adaptation of Dick's (1990, 1992) studies to the linguistic-cultural specificities of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). The results show that naming the cities of Acre is strongly influenced by the spoken language, Portuguese, since most of the signs show hand configurations referring to the letters of the place names in the Portuguese language in their phono-morphological structure. With regard to semantic-motivational aspects, the iconic mapping of most of the data shows the visual references that influence the production of the name signs of the cities.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"22 1","pages":"105 - 75"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41445630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Toward a Phonetic Description of Hand Placement on Bearings","authors":"Robert E. Johnson, Scott K. Liddell","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This article follows Johnson and Liddell (2011a, 2011b, 2011c, 2012) and Liddell and Johnson (2019), which introduce the concepts of sequentiality and contrast, a segmental framework consisting of postures and trans-forms, and features describing the configuration of the fingers and of the thumb. This article further develops that theory of phonetics, focusing on the phonetic representations of the locations of the hand on the body and in space. We propose that, rather than describing the placement of the hands with respect to spatial loci, the hands locate at particular places on placement bearings. This approach allows us to describe nonindicating signs whose origins are on the head, trunk, arm, and the opposite hand, and demonstrate that indicating signs may also be described using the same approach.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"22 1","pages":"131 - 180"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48474864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mothers, Mountain Devils, and Pointing to Eternity: The \"Horns\" Handshape in Australian Indigenous Sign Languages","authors":"Jennifer Green","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:Australian Indigenous sign languages are predominantly used by hearing people as a replacement for speech in certain cultural contexts. In some circumstances sign is used alongside speech, and in others it may replace speech altogether. This article provides a window on some of the articulatory dimensions of these sign languages by examining the distribution of the \"horns\" handshape in repertoires of sign from a range of communities in Central and Northern Australia. The horns handshape is notable as it is one of the more common handshapes found, at least in some of the sign languages used in Australian Indigenous communities. This contrasts with the apparent infrequency of this handshape in some other sign languages of the world. By implementing a methodology that takes the interconnections between sign and speech into account, the article explores loose networks of semantic association in signs that employ this handshape and assesses evidence of semantic motivation for its use in sets of related signs.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"22 1","pages":"41 - 5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47416724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"International Sign and American Sign Language as Different Types of Global Deaf Lingua Francas","authors":"Annelies Kusters","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:International Sign (IS) and American Sign Language (ASL) have both been used as lingua francas within international deaf contexts. Perspectives on the uses of IS and ASL as lingua francas in such contexts are connected to discourses pertaining to the form, function, status, value, languageness, and global reach of IS and ASL. While there are some historical and usage-based parallels between IS and ASL, they are different types of lingua francas, and their uses as lingua franca are evaluated differently in different contexts.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":"391 - 426"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47431704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Language Contact between Israeli Sign Language and Kufr Qassem Sign Language","authors":"R. Stamp, Marah Jaraisy","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0007","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:We investigate the contact situation between Israeli Sign Language (ISL) and Kufr Qassem Sign Language (KQSL) in a bilingual deaf community in Israel. We examine one outcome of language contact, known as reiteration—when two semantically equivalent lexical items from two different languages are produced sequentially. Until now, reiteration has been accepted as a clear example of code-switching. Yet, when we find multiple examples of reiteration present in monolingual signers of KQSL, we ask the following question: Is this a case of code-switching? KQSL monolingual signers produce the signs girlISL girlKQSL not as an example of reiteration but rather as a compound with the meaning of \"wife.\" We conclude that, in this case, the sign girlISL is borrowed from ISL into a preexisting compound present in KQSL. Using examples from monolingual and bilingual data, we unravel the mystery of the \"wife\" and the stages of language change it has undergone.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":"455 - 491"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45948137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Historical Linguistics and the Case for Sign Language Families","authors":"T. Reagan","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:This article offers a brief overview of historical linguistics and explores the value of historical sign linguistics. The specific focus of the article is on the question of the extent to which the concept of \"sign language families\" is a legitimate and useful one. It is suggested that although lateral transmission and interference may account for a great deal of the similarity between and among sign languages, descent from a common linguistic ancestor (as in the cases of American Sign Language and French Sign Language) can also often be documented. It is observed that sign languages seem to change at a much more rapid rate than do spoken languages, but this is suggested to have at least as much to do with factors such as the intragenerational transmission of most sign languages as any other variable. Finally, it is argued that regardless of its status in historical linguistics more generally, lexicostatistics has consistently been demonstrated to be a powerful methodological tool in understanding the relationships between and among different sign languages.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":"427 - 454"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/sls.2021.0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48810582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deafness, Gesture, and Sign Language in the 18th Century French Philosophy by Josef Fulka (review)","authors":"E. Sayers","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":"496 - 499"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44396878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Agatha Tiegel Hanson: Our Places in the Sun by Katherine Jankowski (review)","authors":"A. B. Kelly","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":"492 - 495"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/sls.2021.0008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46295925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Negative Affixation in Polish Sign Language","authors":"P. Tomaszewski, Wiktor Eźlakowski","doi":"10.1353/sls.2021.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2021.0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract:The following article looks into the question of negative affixation in Polish Sign Language. Until today only one negative prefix and one negative suffix were recognized in Polish Sign Language. Our research investigates farther these two affixes looking into their etymologies, constraints and new examples of their use. The negative prefix (neg–) results from PJM's contact with spoken Polish, while the negative suffix (–neg2) is an element native to PJM. Aside from a more indepth analysis of the previously known affixes, our research uncovers new suffixes (–neg3 and –neg4), an interfix (–neg1–) and a postfix (–neg5). The interfix has the same origin as the negative prefix. The suffix –neg3 comes from a sign meaning \"lack of something.\" The suffix –neg4 originates from a natural gesture. The postfix is a result of a combination of a natural gesture and a sign.","PeriodicalId":21753,"journal":{"name":"Sign Language Studies","volume":"21 1","pages":"290 - 332"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1353/sls.2021.0001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42867381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}