Welcome! Lecture day- please clear off your desks- no phones needed; need comp. books for “Where’s

Waldo”

Welcome! Lecture day- please clear off your desks- no phones needed; need comp. books for “Where’s

Waldo”

ASL 2Advanced Grammar

(remember, test next Thursday over all culture/grammar)

ASL 2Advanced Grammar

(remember, test next Thursday over all culture/grammar)

+

20122012

Classifiers in ASL

Classifiers in ASL

General Overview of Classifiers

General Overview of Classifiers

Iconic signs and Classifier Descriptions

Iconic signs and Classifier Descriptions

*Many non-signers believe signing is “gestures in the air”- no!!!

*There are some elements of ASL that are more iconic than others, and appear “gesture-like”- such as classifiers- but they are a part of the grammar

*ASL has a complex grammatical system and has a structure more similar to spoken Chinese than English

*One examples is the classifier *One examples is the classifier systemsystem

*Many non-signers believe signing is “gestures in the air”- no!!!

*There are some elements of ASL that are more iconic than others, and appear “gesture-like”- such as classifiers- but they are a part of the grammar

*ASL has a complex grammatical system and has a structure more similar to spoken Chinese than English

*One examples is the classifier *One examples is the classifier systemsystem

What are classifiers?What are classifiers?*Classifiers have no meaning on their own- Classifiers have no meaning on their own-

they must be used in conjunction with their they must be used in conjunction with their nounnoun

*English has very few classifiers- (tons=? *English has very few classifiers- (tons=? Stack=?) example: Stack=?) example: tonstons of homework, of homework, stacksstacks of paper (and we can avoid using of paper (and we can avoid using classifiers if we choose to do so)classifiers if we choose to do so)

*In spoken Chinese-*In spoken Chinese-MustMust use them: Flat use them: Flat objects (table, paper, bed) vs. thin objects, objects (table, paper, bed) vs. thin objects, etc.etc.

*In ASL, we have a similar *In ASL, we have a similar requiredrequired system system

*Classifiers show, for example, the shape, *Classifiers show, for example, the shape, description, and number of itemsdescription, and number of items

*In ASL, classifiers (classifier predicates) are *In ASL, classifiers (classifier predicates) are

required required for certain expressionsfor certain expressions

*Classifiers have no meaning on their own- Classifiers have no meaning on their own- they must be used in conjunction with their they must be used in conjunction with their nounnoun

*English has very few classifiers- (tons=? *English has very few classifiers- (tons=? Stack=?) example: Stack=?) example: tonstons of homework, of homework, stacksstacks of paper (and we can avoid using of paper (and we can avoid using classifiers if we choose to do so)classifiers if we choose to do so)

*In spoken Chinese-*In spoken Chinese-MustMust use them: Flat use them: Flat objects (table, paper, bed) vs. thin objects, objects (table, paper, bed) vs. thin objects, etc.etc.

*In ASL, we have a similar *In ASL, we have a similar requiredrequired system system

*Classifiers show, for example, the shape, *Classifiers show, for example, the shape, description, and number of itemsdescription, and number of items

*In ASL, classifiers (classifier predicates) are *In ASL, classifiers (classifier predicates) are

required required for certain expressionsfor certain expressions

Lexicalized signs vs. Loan SignsLexicalized signs vs. Loan SignsLexicalized signs- #fun, #what, #style

True loan signs- from another language, eg.CHINA, KOREA, etc.

ReduplicationReduplication

Seen in several Noun-Verb Pairs in ASL

Verbs-move slow and onceNouns-undergo reduplication: repeated and

faster

Examples: To-Fly vs. Airplane To-Sit vs. Chair

NMSNMS

Non-Manual Signals in ASL Non-Manual Signals in ASL include anything include anything

conveyed beyond the use conveyed beyond the use of hand signsof hand signs

ASL NMSASL NMS

FaceMouth (oo, mm, cha, cs, “th”, ...)*mouth morphemes often show “intensity” or “degree”Eyes (eye gaze, squint, ...)Eyebrows (raised, lowered…)Nose (e.g. crinkled=yes)Tongue (e.g. Not-Yet)

Head

NodShakeTiltEtc…

Upper Body

ShoulderShrug (e.g. shy, …)

Role Shift movement

Etc…

5 Parameters in ASL

5 Parameters in ASL

HANDSHAPEPALM ORIENTATIONMOVEMENTLOCATIONNON-MANUAL SIGNALS

HANDSHAPEPALM ORIENTATIONMOVEMENTLOCATIONNON-MANUAL SIGNALS

Parameters: can be compared

similar to individual sounds

Minimal Pairs: Two words or signs that are identical except for ONE change; & this changes the meaning (minimally distinctive)

Minimal Pairs: Two words or signs that are identical except for ONE change; & this changes the meaning (minimally distinctive)

English- Pat, Bat, SatASL-FATHER, MOTHER, FINE (location)NAME, WEIGHT, KNIFE; SCHOOL, PAPER, CLEAN(movement)HOME, DEAF, YESTERDAY(handshape)LATE, NOT-YET(non-manual signal)THING, CHILDREN (palm orientation)

ASL Uses Space!!!ASL Uses Space!!!

Know what is Neutral Space in ASL, and the different “planes” we generally use when signing

Deixis- know this concept (establishing referents)-In ASL, we generally do this through indexing (pointing) and eye gaze

MovementMovement

ASL can use both non-manual signals and movement in space to simultaneously add meaning “on top of” signs, Movement changes to indicate person, number, etc.- often through certain verb types

Links to Wikipedia: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/American_Sign_Language/Grammar_1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sign_Language_grammar

Movement can change meaning: e.g. MORNING; EVERY-MORNING; ALL-MORNING

Verb Types in ASLp. 37 SN Level 2Verb Types in ASLp. 37 SN Level 2

Plain/Uninflected-

basic verb e.g. TO-LIVE,

TO-DIE, TO-UNDERSTAND

Inflecting Verbs

e.g. THROW-UP

(may have a plain/uninflected form, e.g. TO-THROW-UP (once)

Recurring Inflection: repetitions (e.g. several times a day, every Monday)

Continuous Inflection: repeated circular movement (e.g. continuously with little interruption- the whole hour, all morning, all week long)

Spatial/Agreement Verbs

(person, number) e.g. TO-SHOW, TO-GIVE, etc…

Almost The End! Great Job!

Almost The End! Great Job!

Almost…--Double Letters in Fingerspelling- two slides, then done!!!