Mouth Actions in Sign Languages: An Empirical Study of Irish Sign Language

by Susanne Mohr

Overview

Mouth actions in sign languages have been controversially discussed but the sociolinguistic factors determining their form and functions remain uncertain. This first empirical analysis of mouth actions in Irish Sign Language focuses on correlations with gender, age, and word class. It contributes to the linguistic description of ISL, research into non-manuals in sign languages, and is relevant for the cross-modal study of word classes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614517054
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	06/16/2014
Series:	Sign Languages and Deaf Communities [SLDC] , #3
Pages:	249
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.03(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Susanne Mohr, University of Bonn, Germany.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements V

List of figures Xi

List of tables xiv

Abbreviations xv

Notational Conventions xvii

1 Introduction 1

2 The Linguistic Setup of Sign Languages-The Case of Irish Sign Language (ISL) 4

2.1 The Sociolinguistics of ISL 5

2.2 The Educational System and Oralism 9

2.3 Structural Issues: the Use of Space 11

2.4 Structural Issues: Iconicity 18

2.5 Structural Issues: Simultaneity 21

2.6 Structural Issues: Non-Manual Features 24

3 Non-manuals in Sign Languages-Theoretical Background 31

3.1 Non-Mouth Related Non-Manuals 32

3.1.1 Eye Gaze 32

3.1.2 Facial Expression 34

3.1.2.1 Facial Expression and the Lexicon 35

3.1.2.2 Facial Expression and Syntax 36

3.1.2.3 Facial Expression and Prosody 46

3.1.3 Head Movements 48

3.2 Mouth Actions 50

3.2.1 Mouth Gestures 51

3.2.2 Echo Phonology 54

3.2.3 Mouthings 55

3.2.4 Spreading of Mouth Actions 61

4 Mouth Actions in ISL-A Typology of Mouthings and Mouth Gestures 64

4.1 Data Sources and Methodology 66

4.2 Categorization of Mouth Actions in the SOI Data 71

4.2.1 Mouthings 71

4.2.2 Mouth Gestures 84

4.2.3 Mouth Actions in the SOI at a Glance 92

5 Mouth Actions in ISL-Sociolinguistic Factors 94

5.1 Research Questions and Hypotheses 94

5.2 Mouth Actions and Gender 95

5.2.1 Mouth Actions in Women 95

5.2.2 Mouth Actions in Men 97

5.2.3 Comparison of Mouth Actions in Men and Women 99

5.3 Combining Two Sociolinguistic Factors-Gender and Age 102

6 Mouth Actions in ISL-Linguistic Factors 114

6.1 Word Classes-Historical and Theoretical Background 115

6.1.1 Semantic Approaches to Word Class Distinction 118

6.1.2 Syntactic Approaches to Word Class Distinction 122

6.1.3 Morphosyntactic Approaches to Word Class Distinction 123

6.1.4 Word Class Distinction in Sign Languages 126

6.1.5 Discussion 131

6.2 Mouth Actions and Word Classes in ISL 132

6.2.1 Syntactic Categories of ISL 134

6.2.2 Lexical Classes of ISL 138

6.2.3 Correlations of Word Classes and Mouth Actions 144

6.2.4 Mouth Gestures as a Category in Its Own Right? 148

6.2.5 Discussion of the Results within a Functional Linguistic Model 154

7 Conclusion 162

Appendix A Complete list of lexical signs and fingerspellings with mouthings 166

Appendix B Contexts for examples (glossed with mouthings) 185

Notes 204

Reference 212

Index 228