In previous work on Danish Sign Language (DSL), Engberg-Pedersen (1993: 42) writes:

1
Interrogative constructions in Danish Sign
Language (DSL) A pilot study on content and
polar interrogatives
Julie HansenSection for Linguistics, Department
of Anthropology, Archaeology and Linguistics,
Aarhus University, Denmark
Introduction In previous work on Danish Sign
Language (DSL), Engberg-Pedersen (1993 42)
writes Facial expressions involving raised
brows, widened eyes, contraction of the muscles
of the eyelids, and the like have been identified
as components of the marking of questionsin
several signed languages and (1998 161) In
some interrogative constructions (in DSL) there
is a nonmanual pattern consisting of the signer
leaning the body and/or head forward, raising the
eyebrows and widening the eyes. In another
pattern the signer lowers the eyebrows. It is not
clear when these patterns are used. In this
pilot study I investigate the interrogative
constructions in DSL with regards to identifying
when the nonmanual patterns described briefly
above are used. I will also investigate
interrogative constructions with regards to
manual questions signs.
Results Two primary types of interrogative
constructions have been identified in the data
Polar questions and content questions. Both types
use specific nonmanual features to mark
interrogative function. Polar questions Polar
questions in DSL are marked nonmanually only. The
primary nonmanual marker is raised brows (figure
3). This marker is often accompanied by a forward
movement of the head, and sometimes also widening
of the eyes. The onset of the nonmanual markers
in polar questions is the beginning of
the sentence and they are maintained throughout
the entire question. ?------------------ ?----
-------------------------------------- KING
ARRIVE YOU KNOW MY BROTHER YOU Has the king
arrived? Do you know my brother? Content
questions As has been described for other sign
languages (Kuhn Wilbur 2006, Zeshan 2004, 2006)
content questions in DSL are formed using a
combination of manual question words and
nonmanual markers. The primary nonmanual marker
of content questions is distinct from the one
marking polar questions as the eyebrows are
lowered instead of raised (figure 4). Other
nonmanual markers that can appear are forward
movement of the head, and raising of the chin.
Furthermore, the corresponding Danish question
word is usually mouthed simultaneously with the
manual question word. There are at least six
manual question signs in DSL (figure 5). Some are
signed with one hand while others are signed
using two hands. Furthermore, hand shape, place
of articulation, movement and orientation is
different in the six signs. The question signs
usually appear in sentence final position, but
can also appear in sentence initial position or
both. ?------------------------- ?-----------
----------- ?----------------------------------
---- WHAT DO NOW HE HE REACT HOW WHO BREAK
THE CUP WHO What is he doing now? What is he
doing? Who broke the cup?
Conclusions This study investigated the primary
types of interrogative constructions Polar and
content questions. The aim was to identify how
and in which types of interrogative constructions
the non-manual patterns described by
Engberg-Pedersen are used. Furthermore, the aim
was to identify if and how manual question words
are used. DSL uses distinct nonmanual signals to
mark content and polar questions and my findings
reveal a rich system of both manual and
non-manual markers. The manual question words in
DSL form a large paradigm of at least six items.
The syntactic position of the manual question
words can vary, though they usually appear
sentence finally. The nonmanual signals include
specific facial expressions, head posture and
mouthing. Some of the features are shared with
other sign languages. Furthermore, although it
has not been investigated in detail it seems that
the nonmanual markers take scope over the entire
question. However, my conclusions are tentative.
First, having used only two consultants the
findings are not generalisable. Second, the
findings are based on elicited data only. More
research is needed using natural discourse as
data. Research on shared properties of languages
and the theoretical conclusions about how
language works have primarily been based on
studies of spoken languages. I believe that the
study of DSL can provide additional and valuable
insight into the possible structures of human
language. Furthermore, this study will contribute
to the understanding of the linguistic variation
and similarities existing not only among sign
languages but among languages in general.
Figure 3. Raised eyebrows is the primary
nonmanual marker of polar questions in DSL.

• Materials and methods
• I collected approximately 2 hours of video
  recordings of elicited interaction between the
  two deaf consultants.
• Consultant 1 Female, 35 years.
• Consultant 2 Female, 47 years.
• Criteria for choosing the consultants
• Danish born.
• Deaf from birth.
• DSL as L1.
• Learnt DSL before age 7.
• The data was originally a part of another sample
  previously used in a study that investigated how
  time is expressed in DSL (Hansen - unpublished).
• The elicitation was based on a Danish version of
  Östen Dahls Tense Mood Aspect questionnaire
  consisting of 156 questions (1985 198-206).
• 118 instances of content and polar questions were
  identified.

Figure 4. Lowered eyebrows is the primary
nonmanual marker of content questions in DSL.
Literature cited Dahl, Östen. 1985. Tense and
aspect systems. Oxford, N.Y. Basil Blackwell
Inc. Engberg-Pedersen, Elisabeth. 1998. Lærebog i
tegnsprogs grammatik. Center for Tegnsprog og
Tegnstøttet Kommunikation. København F.
Hendriksens Eftf. Engberg-Pedersen, Elisabeth.
1993. Space in Danish Sign Language. The
Semantics and Morphosyntax of theUse of Space in
A Visual Language. Hamburg Signum-Verlag. Kuhn,
Ninoslava Šarac Wilbur, Ronnie B. 2006.
Interrogative constructions in Croatian Sign
Language. Sign Language Linguistics 91/2.
151-167. Zeshan, Ulrike (ed.) 2006. Interrogative
and Negative Constructions in Sign Languages.
Nijmegen Ishara Press. Zeshan, Ulrike. 2004.
Interrogative constructions in signed languages
Crosslinguistic perspectives. Language 80. 7-39.
Figure 5. Manual question words in DSL. From left
to right WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, WHO (pictures
5-6) and HOW (pictures 7-8). The syntactic
position of question words can vary, although
they usually appear in sentence final position.
Other findings A number of non-interrogative
signs may be used to create more content
questions by using the non-manual marking of
content questions. These signs and nonmanual
markers are then accompanied by mouthing a Danish
question word. ?----------------------------------
----------------------------------- YOUR BROTHER
WRITE LETTER HOW-LONG TIME How long time did it
take your brother to write the letter?
Acknowledgments This study was supported by
Center for Tegnsprog Centre for Sign Language
in Aarhus, who let me use their facilities and
personnel. I want to express my gratitude to the
language consultants who took on the, at times,
tedious work of answering all TMA questions.
Their help has been invaluable. I also want to
thank the head of institute for letting me use
the facilities and personnel at the centre.
For further information Please contact
linjha_at_hum.au.dk.Webpage http//person.au.dk/en/
linjha_at_hum.au.dk
Figure 6. The table above gives an overview of
the findings in this study, showing the number of
occurrences of manual question words and
non-manual signals and to which type of question
they apply.
Figure 7. The sign in picture 5 is the
non-interrogative sign used as question word.
Figures 1 and 2. Camera and blue screen set-up
for the recording sessions.