Sign Language and Linguistic Universals

570 Pages·2006·11.699 MB·

by  Wendy Sandler, Diane Lillo-Martin

Sign Language and
Linguistic Universals
Signlanguagesareofgreatinteresttolinguists,because,althoughtheyare
the product of the same brain, their physical transmission differs greatly
from that of spoken languages. In this pioneering and original study,
Wendy Sandler and Diane Lillo-Martin compare sign languages with
spoken languages, in order to seek the universal properties they share.
Drawing on general linguistic theory, they describe and analyze sign
language structure, showing linguistic universals in the phonology, mor-
phology, and syntax of sign language, while also revealing non-universal
aspectsofitsstructurethatmustbeattributedtoitsphysicaltransmission
system.Nopriorbackgroundinsignlanguagelinguisticsisassumed,and
numerous pictures are provided to make descriptions of signs and facial
expressions accessible to readers. Engaging and informative, Sign
LanguageandLinguisticUniversalswillbeinvaluabletolinguists,psychol-
ogists,andallthoseinterestedinsignlanguages,linguistictheory,andthe
universalpropertiesofhumanlanguages.
WENDY SANDLER is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of
English Language and Literature at the University of Haifa, Israel, and
has been investigating the phonology and morphology of American Sign
Language and Israeli Sign Language for almost twenty years. She has
previously published Phonological Representation of the Sign (1989) and
LanguageinSpace:AWindowonIsraeliSignLanguage(co-authoredwith
IritMeir,2004).
DIANE LILLO-MARTIN is Professor and Head in the Department of
Linguistics, University of Connecticut, and Senior Research Scientist
attheHaskinsLaboratories, withresearchinterests inboththestructure
andacquisitionofAmericanSignLanguage.Shehaspreviouslypublished
UniversalGrammarandAmericanSignLanguage:SettingtheNullArgument
Parameters (1991) and Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition (co-
authoredwithStephenCrain,1999).

Sign Language and
Linguistic Universals
WENDY SANDLER
DIANE LILLO-MARTIN
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521483957
© Wendy Sandler and Diane Lillo-Martin 2006
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2006
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-0-521-48248-6 Hardback
ISBN 978-0-521-48395-7 Paperback
Transferred to digital printing 2009
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred to in
this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is,
or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel
timetables and other factual information given in this work are correct at
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the accuracy of such information thereafter.
Wededicatethisbooktoourparents
MiltonSandler(1919-2005) CliffordLeRoyLillo
BerniceSandler ElizabethMaeLillo(1924-2004)

Contents
Preface xv
Notationconventions xx
UNITI INTRODUCTION 1
1 Onehumanlanguageortwo? 3
1.1 Separatingthecodefromthemode:therole
oflinguistictheory 4
1.1.1 Thewordanditsstructure 6
1.1.2 Sublexicalunits 8
1.1.3 Thesentence 11
1.2 Themodeanditsimplicationsforthestudy
oflanguage 16
UNITII MORPHOLOGY 19
2 Morphology:introduction 21
3 Inflectionalmorphology 23
3.1 Verbagreement 23
3.1.1 Signlanguageverbagreement- basic
description 24
3.1.2 Signlanguageverbagreement- additional
complexities 29
3.1.3 Signlanguageverbagreement- accountingfor
verbclasses 31
3.1.4 Determiningagreementfromnominalcontrollers 34
3.1.5 Determiningagreementbasedonthethematic
structureofverbs 35
3.1.6 Numberagreement 39
vii
viii Contents
3.1.7 Non-manualmarkingofagreement 42
3.1.8 Verbagreementsummary 46
3.2 Verbalaspect 47
3.3 Pluralization 50
3.4 Modelsoftemplaticmorphology 51
4 Derivationalmorphology 55
4.1 Templaticderivationalmorphologyinsignlanguages 55
4.1.1 TemplaticderivationalmorphologyinASL 55
4.1.2 Allomorphy 58
4.1.3 AnASLmorphome 59
4.1.4 Morphemesrealizedontheface 60
4.2 Morphemesequences:non-templaticderivational
morphologyinsignlanguages 63
4.2.1 SequentialmorphologyinASL 64
4.2.2 SequentialmorphologyinIsraeliSign
Language 69
4.3 Compounds 72
4.3.1 Lexicalizedandnovelcompounds 72
4.3.2 Coordinatecompounds 73
4.4 Interimsummary 74
5 Classifierconstructions 76
5.1 Abasicdescription 77
5.2 VerbalclassifiersandNounIncorporation 83
5.2.1 PropertiesofclassifiersthatevolvedfromNoun
Incorporation 85
5.3 Classifierconstructions:boundmorphemescombined
postlexically 89
5.4 Understandingclassifierconstructionsthroughpoetry 92
5.5 Conclusion 93
6 Enteringthelexicon:lexicalization,backformation,
andcross-modalborrowing 94
6.1 Classifierconstructions:frompostlexicaltolexical
andbackagain 95
6.1.1 Prosodictransformationunderlexicalization 97
6.2 Productivityandlexicalization:thecaseofSAUNTER 98
6.2.1 Spatialverbsaslexicalizedclassifier
constructions 102
6.3 Foreignvocabulary 104
6.3.1 Mouthingissign,notspeech 104
Contents ix
6.3.2 Borrowingthroughfingerspelling:structure,
meaning,andiconicity 105
7 Morphology:conclusion 108
UNITIII PHONOLOGY 111
8 Meaninglesslinguisticelementsandhowtheypattern 113
9 Sequentialityandsimultaneityinsignlanguagephonology 120
9.1 Liberationofthesegment:excursusonnon-linear
theoriesofphonologyandmorphology 122
9.2 SequentialStructureinthesign 123
9.3 TheMove-Holdmodel:sequentialsegmentsinsign
language 128
9.4 TheHandTiermodel:handconfigurationasan
autosegment 132
9.5 Thephonologyofnon-linearmorphologyinsign
language:prosodictemplates 139
9.6 Conclusion 142
10 Handconfiguration 144
10.1 Parametersofcontrast 145
10.2 Hierarchicalrepresentationoffeatureclasses:
handshape 151
10.2.1 FeatureGeometryinspokenlanguage
phonology 152
10.2.2 Thegeometryofselectedfingersand
fingerposition 152
10.2.3 Therepresentationofinternalmovement 154
10.3 Orientationandthehandconfigurationhierarchy 156
10.4 Terminalfeatures 159
10.4.1 Unarinessandmarkednessinhandshapes 160
10.4.2 Orientationfeatures 166
10.4.3 Phoneticredundancyandotherpredictable
properties 168
10.5 Whereishandconfigurationintheoverall
phonologicalmodel? 169
10.6 Summaryandconclusion 171
11 Location:featurecontentandsegmentalstatus 174
11.1 Twoclassesoflocationfeatures 174