Sign Language Discourse & Conversation – Week 2–3 Lecture Notes

A set of question-and-answer flashcards covering conversational regulation, cohesive devices, information structure, and discourse strategies in sign language, based on Weeks 2–3 lecture content.

What is the first step a signer should take before starting a conversation?

Establish mutual eye gaze with the addressee.

Name three typical attention-getting signals used in sign language interaction.

Small handwave, tap on body, flashing the lights.

Which factors influence the choice of an attention signal in Deaf conversation?

Distance between interlocutors, size of the group, tenor/situation (intimate, casual, formal), and physical environment (inside/outside, seated/standing).

Give two examples of inappropriate ways to gain a Deaf person’s attention.

Starting to sign without eye contact or touching the person’s face.

How does a signer ‘hold the floor’ during a turn?

Keep hands raised in signing space, avert gaze, hold the last sign, or use fillers such as a hand wiggle or PALM-UP.

List two visual back-channel cues a Deaf listener provides.

Nodding and facial echoing of the signer’s expression.

What signals that a signer is ending their turn?

Returning direct gaze, slowing movement, pausing, lowering hands to rest position, or gazing toward the next speaker.

Define coherence in discourse analysis.

The relation between linguistic parts and their connection to the non-linguistic context (situation or topic).

Define cohesion in discourse analysis.

The way parts of a text are linked by lexical or grammatical features that give unity to the text.

What is collocation as a cohesive device?

Predictable groupings of words that frequently occur together, e.g., ‘possibility/prospect/implication.’

Give two grammatical cohesive devices found in English.

Anaphoric reference (pronouns), substitution, or ellipsis.

What purpose do discourse markers serve?

They guide the flow and direction of conversation and often act as fillers.

Give an example of an additive lexical discourse marker in NZSL.

PLUS or ALSO/SAME.

Which NZSL discourse marker category does BUT belong to?

Adversative.

Explain ‘spatial mapping’ in sign language discourse.

A strategy of pointing to areas in signing space to evoke conceptual referents, aiding cohesion and audience involvement.

How is definite reference signaled in NZSL?

By setting up and/or pointing to an established spatial location (anaphoric pointing).

How is indefinite reference typically expressed in NZSL?

No prior spatial index; the noun appears without pointing, sometimes accompanied by the sign ONE meaning ‘a.’

Differentiate topic and focus in sign language information structure.

Topic sets the scene (noun/time/location) and appears first; focus introduces new or contrastive information.

What non-manual signals mark a topic in NZSL?

Raised brows, widened eyes, slight backward head tilt, and a pause before the comment.

How are rhetorical (wh-cleft) questions signaled non-manually in NZSL?

Raised brows, eye widening, chin thrust forward/up, and a pause at clause end.

Where is the focus information placed in a wh-cleft/rhetorical construction?

Immediately after the rhetorical question clause.

What are list buoys and why are they used?

Handshapes that assign different referents to numbered fingers, helping to list or order information in discourse.

Describe ‘blended viewpoint’ in constructed action.

Simultaneous portrayal of a character’s body/face perspective while the hands depict other actions from the viewer’s perspective.