Frequency of Occurrence and Ease of Articulation of Sign Language Handshapes: The Taiwanese Example

225 Pages·2006·1.32 MB·English

by  Jean Ann

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Frequency of
Occurrence
and Ease of
Articulation of
Sign Language
Handshapes
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Frequency of
Occurrence
and Ease of
Articulation of
Sign Language
Handshapes
The Taiwanese Example
Jean Ann
Gallaudet University Press
Washington, D.C.
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Gallaudet University Press
Washington, D.C. 20002
http://gupress.gallaudet.edu
©2006 by Gallaudet University
All rights reserved
Published in 2006
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ann, Jean
Frequency of occurrence and ease of articulation of sign language handshapes :
the Taiwanese example / Jean Ann.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56368-288-5 (alk. paper)
1. Taiwan Sign Language. I. Title.
HV2474.A55 2000
419'.51249—dc22 2006010157
(cid:1)(cid:1) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
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To my mother, Marian Jeanne Savoca Griffin, and the memory
of my father, Patrick Joseph Griffin. From the first time I insisted
onreading them The Cat in the Hatall by myself, I have loved language.
Their stoking of that fire eventually led me to become a linguist.
And to my parents-in-law, Zhang Da-yin and Peng Jin-de, who teach
me, ever so gently, about language and living in a foreign land with dig-
nity and courage.
I honor them all for what they have given me, and for what they
keep letting me believe I can do.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter One Contextualizing this Book 1
Chapter Two The Anatomy and Physiology 56
of the Human Hand
Chapter Three A Model of Ease of 87
Handshape Articulation
Chapter Four Ease and Frequency Compared 139
Conclusion 181
References 191
Index 205
vii
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Acknowledgments
About fifteen years ago, I read four things that rocked my world: a then-
unpublished paper by David Corina and Elizabeth Sagey, Mark Mandel’s
dissertation, drafts of Grounded Phonology by Diana Archangeli and
Doug Pulleyblank, and some of the work of John Ohala. Since then,
the idea of articulation of handshapes has bothered me night and day. I
ended up writing a 1993 dissertation on the topic. Perhaps I should have
left it at that, but I didn’t. This book is a much-revised and updated ver-
sion of my dissertation.
Doing this project gave me chances to live in places from southern
Taiwan to central New York and to work with a delightful array of both
linguists and regular people. The clearest way to express my gratitude
to the many who have supported me as I wrote this book is to tell the
stories of my encounters with each. But because those stories are another
book, it will have to suffice to reduce the stories to names and a few
words of thanks and praise. I hope I have thanked everyone who helped
me; for anyone I have inadvertently left out, I offer apologies and thanks.
At the University of Arizona, first and foremost, Mike Hammond
gave me the space to try to think about functional questions in a formal
department. If he had not let me be where I was, I would not have been
able to begin this journey. Diana Archangeli’s careful attention to my
writing and analysis was a gift. Sam Supalla’s insights about sign lan-
guages and his willingness to make time for me were invaluable. I was
encouraged by Doug Saddy, Wendy Wiswall, Tom Bourgeois, Masahide
ix