Course contents and suggested bibliography

 

[Back ]

 

12. Typology of Sign Languages
URIKE ZESHAN (Research Centre for Linguistic Typology La Trobe University, Melbourne)

u.zeshan@latrobe.edu.au

 

The course:

This course is an exploratory journey into one of the newest sub-disciplines of linguistics. Sign language typology aims at documenting the full extent of linguistic diversity found in sign languages around the world. This is expected to lead to a theory of variation across sign languages and to create an empirically substantiated basis for broader comparisons between signed and spoken language. Sign language typology thus adds a new dimension to linguistic typology by introducing an entirely new and different brand of languages in a visual-gestural medium. Conversely, sign language research benefits from applying theoretical and methodological approaches adapted from linguistic typology for the purpose of analysing data from diverse sign languages.

The course has three parts. In session 1-3, we will set the stage by providing necessary background information on a number of topics. Sessions 4-9 are devoted to a number of grammatical structures and constructions that will be investigated across signed (and spoken) languages. All structures will be amply illustrated with videotaped examples from sign languages around the world. In the final session, we will try to draw broader conclusions that emerge from studies in sign language typology.

Although the course might be easier to follow if participants have been exposed to sign languages before, a background in sign language linguistics is not necessary. All crucial concepts and terminologies from the field of sign language research will be explained throughout the course.

 

Course schedule:

Session 1

Sign language research: Basic concepts

This session will provide an introduction to key issues in sign language research and to the associated terminology.

Session 2

Sign language research and linguistic typology

This session will give an overview of the development and the present state of knowledge in sign language linguistics, its relationship to linguistic typology, and the emergence of sign language typology.

Session 3

Sign language typology: Aims and methods

In order to get a better idea of what sign language typology is all about, we will look at the principal aims and the methodology associated with this field of research.

Session 4

Negative constructions (part 1)

In these sessions, we will take a detailed look at results from the first-ever large case study in sign language typology, covering interrogatives and negatives in some 35 sign languages around the world. This will serve to illustrate the kind and extent of typological variation that can be found across sign languages.

Session 5

Negative constructions (part 2)

Interrogative constructions (part 1)

Session 6

Interrogative constructions (part 2)

Session 7

Possession and existentials

We will look at how another central part of the grammar of any language is realized in various sign languages. Differences and similarities across sign languages will be related to results from spoken language typology.

Session 8

Pronominal reference, verb agreement, and the use of space

The use of space is a central part of the grammar of all known sign languages. However, its realization is far from universal. We will cover issues such as pronominal paradigms, auxiliary constructions, and numeral categories, with examples from various sign languages illustrating cross-linguistic differences and similarities.

Session 9

Classifier constructions

Classifier constructions have been a hotly debated issue in sign language linguistics for a long time. In this session, we will take a look at cross-linguistic variation and also talk about the role of gesture in sign languages.

Session 10

Signed and spoken language: The modality question

In the final session, we will try to draw some conclusions in terms of possible modality-related differences between signed and spoken languages. We will also discuss possible ways in which sign language typology could influence (spoken) language typology, linguistic theory and traditional notions of grammar.

 

 

Suggested reading:

Note: Since this is a very new field of research, there is practically no pre-existing literature on the subject. Therefore, most of the suggested reading is meant to introduce the domains of investigation rather than providing any specific information about sign language typology.

a) As a general introduction to sign languages and deaf communities, the following are recommended, although their content is not part of the course:

Padden, Carol & Tom Humphries (1988): Deaf in America: Voices from a culture. Cambridge, Mass. a.o.: Harvard University Press.

Sacks, Oliver (1989): Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf. Berkeley-Los Angeles: University of California Press.

b) For individual sessions, the following titles are recommended, especially for participants with no prior background in sign language linguistics:

Session

Title

1

Sutton-Spence, R. & B. Woll (1999): The Linguistics of British Sign Language. An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Chapter 1]

2

Zeshan, Ulrike (2003): Indo-Pakistani Sign Language Grammar: A Typological Outline. Sign Language Studies 3:2, 157-212.

4 & 5

Zeshan, Ulrike (forthcoming): Hand, Head and Face – Negative Constructions in Sign Languages. Linguistic Typology.

8

Liddell, Scott K. (1990): Four Functions of a Locus: Reexamining the Structure of Space in ASL. In: Lucas, Ceil (ed): Sign language research: theoretical issues, 176-200. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Padden, Carol (1990): The relation between space and grammar in ASL verb morphology. Lucas, Ceil (ed.): Sign Language Research: Theoretical Issues, 118-132. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Smith, Wayne H. (1990): Evidence for Auxiliaries in Taiwan Sign Language. In: Fischer, Susan & Particia Siple (eds.): Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research, Vol. 1: Linguistics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

9

Schembri, Adam (2002): Rethinking "classifiers" in signed languages. In: Emmorey, K. (ed.): Perspectives on classifier constructions in sign languages. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

Zeshan, Ulrike (2002a): ‘Classificatory’ Constructions in Indo-Pakistani Sign Language – Grammaticalization and Lexicalization Processes. In: Emmorey, K. (ed.): Perspectives on classifier constructions in sign languages. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.

10

Anderson, S.R. 1993. ‘Linguistic Expression and its Relation to Modality’. In: Coulter, G.R.: Phonetics and Phonology, Vol 3, Current Issues in ASL Phonology. San Diego a.o.: Academic Press, 273-290.

Armstrong, David F. (1983). Iconicity, Arbitrariness, & Duality of Patterning in Signed & Spoken Language: Perspectives on Language Evolution. Sign Language Studies 3:51-69.

Zeshan, Ulrike (2002b): Towards a Notion of ‘Word’ in Sign Languages. In: Dixon, R.M.W. & A.Y. Aikhenwald (eds.): Word: A cross-linguistic typology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

[Back ]