Sign Language Phonology II

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Sign Language Phonology II

• COGS 524
• Sandler Lillo-Martin 2006,
• chapter 11 Location

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A controversy about 'location'?

• Locations are a sequential segment type

• Locations are a cagtegory on a par with HC in a
  feature hierarchy

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Two classes of location features1. there is only
one major location in each sign2. The hand moves
from one location to the other (beginning and
end of sign)

• Place
• major body area
• includes the unary features of head, trunk,
  nondominant hand, and arm
• The 1 major place feature is multiply associated
  with LM tier

• Setting
• characterize the relation of the hands to the
  place specification and to the movement

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Place and setting in the model

• Orientation
• Position
• o Selected fingers
• o
• HC
• L M L
• Place
• Setting
• head trunk hand 2 arm
• hi lo ipsilatcontralat proximal
  distal contact

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Hand-tier representation of IDEA
http//asl.ms/()/images2/abcslideshow.htm

• HC
• L M L
• o Place
• head
• o Setting
• ipsi
• contact hi proximal

LOCATION
The 'distance' feature' branches the hand
moves from 'contact' with the head to 'proximal'
from the head, at the same side ipsi and
upwards hi
http//www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/i/idea
.htm
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Signs with two locations

• In compounds, each input sign contributes its
  location features
• BELIEVE HC
• L M L
• Place o o
• head h2

http//www.deafmissions.com/?PageID18SubpageID7
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Predictions of the model

• 1. Finer setting distinctions will not be
  contrastive (e.g. between the ipsilateral temple
  and the forehead)
• --gt needs to be tested empirically
• 2. Features such as hi and ipsilateral figure
  in phonological processes
• --gt metathesis for setting features of DEAF in
  MOTHER DEAF, since the location of MOTHER and
  DEAF are the same

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Movement metathesis (Valli/Ceil 2001 45)
FATHER DEAF
MOTHER DEAF
No metathesis of setting features in FaTHER
and DEAF since the locations of the two signs are
not identical
Setting features of DEAF are reversed, due to
identical locations of MOTHER and DEAF
http//www.universalbrain.co.jp/image/sign-mother.
jpg
http//www.universalbrain.co.jp/image/sign-father.
jpg
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Hierarchy of signing spaces(Uyechi 1994/1996)
Uyechi proposes to study the visual phonology of
Sign Language completely on its own, unrelated to
the auditory phonology of spoken languages.
She proposes 4 nested signing spaces HP Hand
Prism what is going on in the hand
phonetically LSS Local Signing Space space
occupied by a sign in a lexical sign GSS Global
SS morphological specifications of spatial
path, as in AGR-verbs DSS Discourse
SS location of discourse topics
DSS
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Hierarchy of signing spaces

• Despite the 4 signing spaces, we need only
  specify the Local Signing Space in the lexical
  entry of a sign. GSS and DSS are only relevant
  for syntax and discourse
• The use of space (location) is modality-specific
  and universal for Sign Language

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3 variants of DEAF
1. variant DEAF
2. variant DEAF
3. Compound DEAFCULTURE Variation in American
Sign Language The case of DEAF Robert Bayley,
Ceil Lucas Mary Rose pages 81107
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