Composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language
-
Shiou-fen Su
Abstract
This paper investigates composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language (TSL) produced from native and near-native deaf signers, native hearing signers, and fluent hearing second language learners. Composite utterances, in which description, indication, and depiction are combined together manually and nonmanually, are prevalent in narratives produced by deaf signers, but only a few are produced by hearing signers, even native ones. For deaf signers, language and gesture are integrated simultaneously and it is natural for them to represent the events with both hands, conflated with manual gestures and with nonmanual expressions. Their utterances are produced mostly through the composite methods of describing, indicating and depicting. For hearing signers, language and gesture are produced with different modalities in their daily spoken Mandarin conversation. In their thinking-for-signing situation, the manual channel is mainly responsible for the language part. Their utterances are produced mostly with the method of describing.
Abstract
This paper investigates composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language (TSL) produced from native and near-native deaf signers, native hearing signers, and fluent hearing second language learners. Composite utterances, in which description, indication, and depiction are combined together manually and nonmanually, are prevalent in narratives produced by deaf signers, but only a few are produced by hearing signers, even native ones. For deaf signers, language and gesture are integrated simultaneously and it is natural for them to represent the events with both hands, conflated with manual gestures and with nonmanual expressions. Their utterances are produced mostly through the composite methods of describing, indicating and depicting. For hearing signers, language and gesture are produced with different modalities in their daily spoken Mandarin conversation. In their thinking-for-signing situation, the manual channel is mainly responsible for the language part. Their utterances are produced mostly with the method of describing.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1: Manuals: Numerals, classifiers, modal verbs
- Historical relationships between numeral signs in Japanese Sign Language, South Korean Sign Language and Taiwan Sign Language 5
- Phonological processes in complex word formation in Shanghai Sign Language 37
- Classifiers and gender in Korean Sign Language 71
- Causative alternation in Tianjin Sign Language 101
- Epistemic modal verbs and negation in Japanese Sign Language 137
-
Part 2: Non-manuals and space
- The Korean Sign Language (KSL) corpus and its first application on a study about mouth actions 169
- Negative polar questions in Hong Kong Sign Language 203
- Analyzing head nod expressions by L2 learners of Japanese Sign Language: A comparison with native Japanese Sign Language signers 241
- Composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language 263
- Time and timelines in Tibetan Sign Language (TSL) interactions in Lhasa 311
- Index 347
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1: Manuals: Numerals, classifiers, modal verbs
- Historical relationships between numeral signs in Japanese Sign Language, South Korean Sign Language and Taiwan Sign Language 5
- Phonological processes in complex word formation in Shanghai Sign Language 37
- Classifiers and gender in Korean Sign Language 71
- Causative alternation in Tianjin Sign Language 101
- Epistemic modal verbs and negation in Japanese Sign Language 137
-
Part 2: Non-manuals and space
- The Korean Sign Language (KSL) corpus and its first application on a study about mouth actions 169
- Negative polar questions in Hong Kong Sign Language 203
- Analyzing head nod expressions by L2 learners of Japanese Sign Language: A comparison with native Japanese Sign Language signers 241
- Composite utterances in Taiwan Sign Language 263
- Time and timelines in Tibetan Sign Language (TSL) interactions in Lhasa 311
- Index 347
