Typology and channel of communication
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Dan I. Slobin
Abstract
Many sign languages have been described linguistically; however, such descriptions draw on grammatical traditions developed for the surrounding spoken languages. Although these languages are spoken all over the world, they all happen to be dependent marking, in terms of the typology developed by Johanna Nichols. It is argued here that sign languages are, by their nature, head marking, requiring a different type of grammatical analysis. This proposal is discussed with regard to (1) grammatical relations – agreement, case marking, and alignment; (2) framing – verb framed and satellite framed; (3) subject and topic prominence; and (4) reference tracking. Basic grammatical characteristics of sign languages stem from the manual/visual modality, which allows for the establishment of loci in space, movement, and simultaneous expression of meaning components on hands, body, and face.
Abstract
Many sign languages have been described linguistically; however, such descriptions draw on grammatical traditions developed for the surrounding spoken languages. Although these languages are spoken all over the world, they all happen to be dependent marking, in terms of the typology developed by Johanna Nichols. It is argued here that sign languages are, by their nature, head marking, requiring a different type of grammatical analysis. This proposal is discussed with regard to (1) grammatical relations – agreement, case marking, and alignment; (2) framing – verb framed and satellite framed; (3) subject and topic prominence; and (4) reference tracking. Basic grammatical characteristics of sign languages stem from the manual/visual modality, which allows for the establishment of loci in space, movement, and simultaneous expression of meaning components on hands, body, and face.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Structures and typologies
- Discourse semantics and the form of the verb predicate in Karachay-Balkar 3
- Typology and channel of communication 47
- Marking versus indexing 69
- Head-marking languages and linguistic theory 91
- Lessons of variability in clause coordination 125
- Noun classes grow on trees 153
- Affecting valence in Khumi 171
- Capturing diversity in language acquisition research 195
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Part II. Distributions in time and space
- Who inherits what, when? 219
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic/Sub-Arctic 241
- A (micro-)accretion zone in a remnant zone? 265
- A history of Iroquoian gender marking 283
- The satem shift, Armenian siseṙn, and the early Indo-European of the Balkans 299
- Penultimate lengthening in Bantu 309
- Culture and the spread of Slavic 331
- The syntax and pragmatics of Tungusic revisited 357
- Some observations on typological features of hunter-gatherer languages 383
- Typologizing phonetic precursors to sound change 395
- Distributional biases in language families 415
- The morphology of imperatives in Lak 445
- Subgrouping in Tibeto-Burman 463
-
Part III. A (cautionary) note on methodology
- Real data, contrived data, and the Yokuts Canon 477
- Language index 495
- Name index 499
- Subject index 505
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Structures and typologies
- Discourse semantics and the form of the verb predicate in Karachay-Balkar 3
- Typology and channel of communication 47
- Marking versus indexing 69
- Head-marking languages and linguistic theory 91
- Lessons of variability in clause coordination 125
- Noun classes grow on trees 153
- Affecting valence in Khumi 171
- Capturing diversity in language acquisition research 195
-
Part II. Distributions in time and space
- Who inherits what, when? 219
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic/Sub-Arctic 241
- A (micro-)accretion zone in a remnant zone? 265
- A history of Iroquoian gender marking 283
- The satem shift, Armenian siseṙn, and the early Indo-European of the Balkans 299
- Penultimate lengthening in Bantu 309
- Culture and the spread of Slavic 331
- The syntax and pragmatics of Tungusic revisited 357
- Some observations on typological features of hunter-gatherer languages 383
- Typologizing phonetic precursors to sound change 395
- Distributional biases in language families 415
- The morphology of imperatives in Lak 445
- Subgrouping in Tibeto-Burman 463
-
Part III. A (cautionary) note on methodology
- Real data, contrived data, and the Yokuts Canon 477
- Language index 495
- Name index 499
- Subject index 505
