NZSL quiz 2

Syntax

The rules or conventions in a language for the ‘correct’ or acceptable ordering of words in a sentence

Word class

Categories of words/signs according to the role they play in a sentence.

Meaning/sense - nouns name entities; verbs name actions; adjectives describe properties, conjunctions join elements

Syntactic properties – what ‘slot’ can a word occupy in a sentence? What relationship does it have with other words in the sentence? Eg. nouns occur after determiners (the/a), verbs occur with auxiliaries, helper verbs (is/have/will)

Morphological properties - how can the word be inflected? (eg nouns can be pluralised, verbs can show tense)

Main word classes

noun, verb, adjective, adverb, determiner, auxiliary verb, preposition, conjunction, pronoun, interjection (See Johnston Ch 7.1 for description of main word classes in SL)

Open class

Speakers of a language can create and add new words in these word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs

Closed Class

Speakers cannot usually create new words in these classes – they are ‘closed’ or fixed: determiners, auxiliary verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns and question signs

Constituent

Major parts or elements in a sentence, such as a subject (an entity) and a verb (or a predicate). XXX order can refer to the order of words in a sentence or elements in a clause.

Clause

A group of words that includes a predicate, usually a verb. Often sentences in SL are made up of a single one. It may or may not contain a verb (see Johnston section 7.4)

Predicate

Specifies what the subject is or does, or tells what is done to the subject. Usually contains a verb and may also contain a modifier, an object, or a complement.

A complete XXX contains a verb and modifying phrase(s) (everything that is not the subject): They will travel to Nelson for Christmas; Dan has been studying since lunchtime.

Transitive verb

A verb that requires two arguments (entities) – a subject or ‘agent’, and an object or ‘recipient’ of the action. Often involves transfer or impact of some kind (e.g., give, ask, teach, help)

Intransitive verb

A verb that requires only one argument - a subject or ‘do-er’ (e.g., cough, die, play, think, write)

Arguments

The grammatical entities or roles that interact with a verb: there are various terms to refer to these, grouped into: subject/agent/actor (initiates an action/ verb) and object/benefactor/undergoer (experiences the action/verb)

Sentence types

Declarative (stating)
Interrogative (asking)
Imperative (commanding/requesting)
Exclamative (expressing reactions such as surprise, approval etc.)

Polar question

Seeks a yes or no answer

Content question

Open-ended question, seeks information. wh- questions

Sentence final

Indicates that the position of a constituent is at the end of a sentence (ditto for ‘clause final’)

Coordination

A relationship between clauses in a sentence that have equal status, to join or contrast information using and, or, but

Adversative (contrast - but, while) or disjunctive (or - this or that)

Subordination

A relationship within a sentence in which one clause is subordinate to a main clause, such as a conditional or relative clause – the clause can't stand alone because it depends on the main clause

Topicalization

A process for marking which constituent or clause of a sentence represents the ‘topic’ – or the part of the sentence which the signer wants to make prominent or important (focus)

Indicating verb

Transitive verbs in SL that are inflected (by movement direction) to ‘indicate’ the subject and object of a verb. Also known as ‘agreement’ verbs because their direction agrees with subj/obj argument locations

Depicting verbs

Verbs that also depict certain aspects of their meanings.

Language contact

Phenomenon that occurs in societies or places/contexts where more than one language is commonly spoken.

Contact language

Linguistic outcome of language contact. A form (variety) of language that is influenced by contact with another language - incorporating some of its lexical and grammatical features – eg., signing in syntax that is influenced by spoken/ written language

Code

A langauge

Repertoire

Range of language resources that an individual has command of – which might draw on more than one language

Variety

A distinctive style or form of expression within a language. Linguists commonly use it as a cover term for any of the overlapping subcategories of a language, including dialect, register, jargon, and idiolect

Pidgin

A simplified form of speech formed out of one or more existing languages in contact and used as a lingua franca by people who have no other language in common. It does not have elaborate grammar and not usually a mother tongue. Mostly described in contexts of trading and plantation societies.

Signed system

A system of signing that is designed to mirror spoken language grammar and lexicon. Vocabulary is usually a mix of natural (deaf community) signs and artificially devised or modified signs (eg initalising signs to reflect corresponding English words)

Diglossia

A situation in which two distinct varieties of a language are spoken within the same speech community. Usually one is considered ‘higher prestige’ than the other. Bilingual XXX is a type of this where one language variety is used for writing and another for speech.

Code mixing

Mixing words or phrases of two languages, usually within a sentence or utterance (intra-sentential mixing)

Code switching

Switching between two languages- usually between sentences or utterances (inter-sentential mixing)

Code blending

Articulating features of two language at once- unique to signed/spoken language modalities (eg speaking or mouthing while signing)

Bimodal bilingual

Deaf people who use/know two languages that are produced in different modalities: visual-gestural and auditory-oral (not necessarily to the same degree in both)

Lexical borrowing or loan

A word is regularly borrowed from one language into another (eg, (ASL) FINE/ SORRY in NZSL). May be partially or full integrated into the phonology of the ‘borrowing’ language (eg, Anglicized pronunciation of ‘croissant’). Phonological modification is often less evident in sign languages.

Unimodal language contact

Contact between two (or more) languages produced in the same modality – eg., Mexican and American Sign Languages

Variation

Alternative ways of speaking or signing within a language community. The aim of studying it is to understand how it is socially organized, and what contextual factors explains it

Linguistic variable/target feature

A feature in the language that varies among speakers – occurring at the level of phonology (a pronunciation feature), syntax (a grammatical pattern), or lexicon (vocabulary preference), for example. This variable becomes a target feature for analysis.

Sociolinguistic variable

When variables are associated with particular groups of people or contexts, they are regarded as this:

Variant

An alternate form of a variable. For example in NZSL, an open flat hand might have thumb extended, or not extended. At lexical level, there are two alternate signs for SON.

Linguistic factors/constraints

Use of variants may be affected by factors within the context of an utterance itself – such as where the target feature occurs in a sentence, word class of the sign, or the effect of an adjacent sign or phonological feature. These are internal or linguistic factors that ‘constrain’ or determine where and when variants occur

Social factors/constraints

Use of variants may be associated with factors about the social background and profile of signers, such as their age, region, age of SL acquisition, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation. These are social factors or constraints that may influence a signer’s preference for one variant over another

Contextual factors

The setting and purpose of communication (e.g., a conversation vs a public speech), as well as the identity of the conversation partner can affect variation in signer choices. Often grouped with social factors since they relate to the social context.

Phonological variation

In SL, this means variation in the production (HOLM) features of a sign – the most common variants being handshape and location. ex: whether the ‘1’ handshape is made with only index finger extended, or with thumb also extended, or whether signs usually made at forehead level are made at cheek level instead.

Lexical variation

Alternate sign forms for the same concept, such as older and contemporary signs for MOTHER, or differing signs for BIRTHDAY

Syntactic variation

Systematic variation at sentence or clause level, for example, the deletion of subject pronouns, or the position of a negator sign before or following a verb

Standardization

Codification of a linguistic norm or standard. Usually entails selecting, documenting, and disseminating certain forms in the language and excluding other forms as non-standard ‘variants’. Dictionaries, schools, language teaching, media all potentially play a role. SL communities may resist efforts when they are initiated by institutions outside the Deaf community, or do not reflect the reality of natural sociolinguistic variation known to exist within SL communities.

SL acquisition contexts

Native: Deaf child of deaf parents (5-10%) and CODAs. Early and rich exposure to SL vocab, grammar, discourse, cultural knowledge

Non-native: Deaf child of hearing parents (90%). Varying ages of exposrue and acquisition, homesign may develop. varying proficiency outcomes. Adult models and peer social interaction are critical inputs

Stages of acquisition

Pre-linguistic (0-12m): babies respond to change in voice and facial expression. caregiver talks to baby, learning about 2-way comm, give and take

1-sign and referential utterances (8-12m): first signs appear months earlier than spoken

1-2y: recognize own name and family members, two-sign handshapes, communicate wants

3-4y: uses plain verbs to connect subjects and objects, rh questions, start using more complex handshaps, understands quantity, classifier+action

4-5 complex sentence structure, sustained convo, stories, understand time concepts and indicatro

Manual babbling

Babies signing when exposed to SL. 7-14m. repeated, cyclic handshapes = syllabic segments

Deaf children acquiring SL require:

access, exposure, interaction

Child-directed signing

How mothers sign with children - slower and larger movements of signs, repetition, exaggerated facial expression, simple…