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Abstract:
In this talk, I present an overview of distinctions that are
linguistically relevant at the lexical level in sign languages.
Following the seminal work of William Stokoe in 1960, a sign is
generally described in terms of values for four parameters: the
handshape (position and movement of the fingers), the orientation
of the hand in space, the location of the hand in space or on the
body, and the movement of the hand through space. I will give an
overview of the values for these different parameters, which are
largely shared among different sign languages. Facial expression
and movement of the upper body and the head also form an integral
part of sign language production, but these aspects are not often
used to distinguish between lexical items.
Although undoubtedly much is known about the motor control of
the upper extremity, linguists studying sign language have said
little about the precise articulation of signs, in terms of
finger, hand, and arm movements. The main reason for this is that
sign linguistics is a small field of research, which over the
past 15 years has focused on comparing sign to speech at abstract
linguistic levels (segments, syllables), rather than studying the
details of the articulation of signs. This situation is rapidly
changing, and to illustrate this kind of research on articulatory
variation, I will discuss recent research done in Leiden on
variations in the realization of signs. One case study concerns
variation in handshape within one register, a second study
concerns variation in movement between soft and loud
registers.
Useful links for further background to this talk are:
http://www.leidenuniv.nl/hil/sign-lang
http://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/bibweb
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