Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter I
2. Contents V
3. Acknowledgements VII
4. Introduction: How Emerging Sign Languages in the Americas contributes to the study of linguistics and (emerging) sign languages 1
5. Part I: Emerging sign languages of the Americas. Descriptions and analysis
6. Signs, interaction, coordination, and gaze: Interactive foundations of “Z”—an emerging (sign) language from Chiapas, Mexico 35
7. Representational strategies in shared homesign systems from Nebaj, Guatemala 97
8. Strategies of noun-verb distinction in Yucatec Maya Sign Languages 155
9. A Typological Perspective on the Meaningful Handshapes in the Emerging Sign Languages on Marajó Island (Brazil) 203
10. Emerging sign languages in the Caribbean 251
11. Yucatec Maya multimodal interaction as basis for Yucatec Maya Sign Language 287
12. Gestures, homesign, sign language: Cultural and social factors driving lexical conventionalization 349
13. Part II: Sociolinguistic sketches
14. Zinacantec family homesign (or “Z”) 393
15. A sociolinguistic sketch of deaf individuals and families from Nebaj, Guatemala 401
16. Yucatec Maya Sign Language(s): A sociolinguistic overview 413
17. Sign languages on Marajó Island (Brazil) 425
18. Sociolinguistic sketch of Providence Island Sign Language 431
19. Bay Islands Sign Language: A sociolinguistic sketch 435
20. Sociolinguistic sketch: Nicaraguan Sign Language and homesign systems in Nicaragua 439
21. Language Index 451
22. Subject Index 453