Old Signs, New Signs, Whose Signs? Sociolinguistic Variation in the NZSL Lexicon
Rachel McKee and David McKee
Abstract
The LIS Corpus Project: A Discussion of Sociolinguistic Variation in the Lexicon
Carlo Geraci, Katia Battaglia, Anna Cardinaletti, Carlo Cecchetto, Caterina
Donati, Serena Giudice, and Emiliano Mereghetti
Pinky Extension as a Phonestheme in Mongolian Sign Language
Christina Healy
Abstract
Kinship in Mongolian Sign Language
Leah Geer
Abstract
Ideological Barriers to American Sign Language: Unpacking Linguistic Resistance
Timothy Reagan
Abstract
Old Signs, New Signs, Whose Signs?
Sociolinguistic Variation in the NZSL Lexicon
Although New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) is used by a closely networked
national Deaf community, it exhibits considerable variation in the lexicon that
has been anecdotally and empirically attributed to age and region. This article
reports a quantitative study that examined the effects of age, region, gender,
and ethnicity on variation in eighty target vocabulary items, across 138 Deaf
NZSL users. The dataset consisted of 11,040 tokens, in which 249 distinct
variants for the 80 items were identified. Findings confirmed that age group is
the strongest social correlate of lexical variation. Marked diachronic variation
and change, shown by the �apparent-time� method of comparing age groups,
reflects the impact of the adoption of Australasian Signed English in deaf
education from 1979 in replacing and supplementing the earlier lexicon. A strong
leveling effect found in the lexicon of younger signers is also attributable to
their use of this sign system in education. Some regional effects found, and a
pattern of interaction between region and age group�with southern and older
signers tending to conserve early variants. Gender and ethnicity played a
minimal role in explaining variation in this analysis. Given the salience of
gender and ethnicity in sociolinguistic variation studies generally, this
finding may be explained by the particular socio-historical profile of the NZSL
community, or by the likelihood that these identity characteristics are indexed
by sub-lexical features, and/or by the decontextualized data elicitation method,
which may not capture the potential use of lexical variants that respond to
audience, topic and style considerations in discourse contexts.
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Pinky Extension as a Phonestheme in
Mongolian Sign Language
In Mongolian Sign Language, many signs with negative connotations are produced
with a hand configuration in which the pinky is extended while the other fingers
are flexed. This article describes the lexemes articulated with this hand
configuration and gives their meanings, reviews morphological processes and
phonetic symbolism, and argues that the hand configuration is a strong
phonestheme. A less frequent tendency in the language is described, wherein the
thumb appears to be associated with positive meaning as a weak phonestheme.
Reviews of international perspectives on these two hand configurations indicate
they are not universal. A possible origin of the evaluative implications is
suggested by a hand game commonly played in Mongolia, in which each finger beats
another finger, which may imply power or prestige toward the thumb and away from
the pinky.
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Kinship in Mongolian Sign Language
The purpose of this investigation is twofold: I determine (1) what and how kinship
terms are used in Mongolian Sign Language (MSL) and (2) to what extent other
languages and cultural practices have influenced the kinship terms in MSL.
Through a variety of methods, including spontaneous production, as well as
direct and indirect elicitation, data were collected from three deaf signers
studying at Gallaudet University. The data suggest that a basic kinship system
exists and that it appears to be native to MSL. This system is lineal and
elaborated only for the immediate family and grandparents. It unifies the terms
for all collaterals (e.g., aunts, cousins). However, it appears that Mongolian
Deaf people prefer another kinship system, one that has been created by the
lexicalization of fingerspelled sequences for analogous Mongolian kinship terms.
It appears, then, that the most significant influence on current MSL kinship
terminology is the majority spoken language of Mongolia and not the surrounding
signed languages. The data, along with general comments from the consultants
about their kinship terms, suggest that the extension of the basic system could
have arisen from the desire to dissimilate from MSL�s relationship to Russian
Sign Language, which had a significant impact on MSL in earlier decades.
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Ideological Barriers to American Sign
Language: Unpacking Linguistic Resistance
Although there have been significant advances in the status and use of ASL in
the United States, there also have often been backlashes to such developments.
The latter have typically been manifested in controversies over beliefs about
the nature of ASL as a �real� or an �appropriate� language for study. This has
been the case, for instance, in four particular areas: efforts to achieve
official recognition of ASL, early identification of hearing impairment and ASL,
the rise of ASL-English bilingual/bicultural education programs, and the
teaching of ASL as a foreign language in educational institutions. In this
article, the debate over the status of ASL is addressed as an example of
ideological beliefs that impact linguistic judgments and policies. Also
discussed are the major challenges to the status of ASL with respect to formal
legislative recognition, its use as a medium of instruction, and its designation
as a legitimate foreign language, all of which are both empirically and
conceptually problematic. Further, it is suggested that the resistance to ASL is
grounded in large part in a misunderstanding of the nature of human language and
of the nature, structure, and history of natural sign languages in general and
ASL in particular.
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