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. 2005 Jun;81(2):301-344.
doi: 10.1353/lan.2005.0043.

THE PARADOX OF SIGN LANGUAGE MORPHOLOGY

Mark Aronoff  1 , Irit Meir, Wendy Sandler
Affiliations

THE PARADOX OF SIGN LANGUAGE MORPHOLOGY

Mark Aronoff et al. Language (Baltim). 2005 Jun.

Abstract

Sign languages have two strikingly different kinds of morphological structure: sequential and simultaneous. The simultaneous morphology of two unrelated sign languages, American and Israeli Sign Language, is very similar and is largely inflectional, while what little sequential morphology we have found differs significantly and is derivational. We show that at least two pervasive types of inflectional morphology, verb agreement and classifier constructions, are iconically grounded in spatiotemporal cognition, while the sequential patterns can be traced to normal historical development. We attribute the paucity of sequential morphology in sign languages to their youth. This research both brings sign languages much closer to spoken languages in their morphological structure and shows how the medium of communication contributes to the structure of languages.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ISL sign: QUESTION.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Complex ASL classifier construction: ‘A person walks forward, (dragging) a dog squirming behind.’
Figure 3
Figure 3
ASL suffixed sign: TEACHER.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Two forms of the ISL agreement verb HELP.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Some size and shape specifiers in ISL (from Meir & Sandler 2004).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Complex SASS classifier construction in ISL: ‘A cup is next to a piece of paper.’
Figure 7
Figure 7
Entity classifier construction in ISL: ‘Two people sit opposite each other.’
Figure 8
Figure 8
ASL sign with grammaticized negative suffix.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Allomorphy in words with the ISL suffix: -NOT-EXIST.
Figure 10
Figure 10
ISL sign with grammaticized sense prefix.
Figure 11
Figure 11
ISL signs with sense prefixes in which the base does not otherwise occur.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adamson Lilian, Smith Norval, Arends, et al. Sranan. 1994. pp. 219–32.
    1. Anderson Stephen R. A-morphous morphology. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge: 1992.
    1. Arends Jacques, Muysken Pieter, Smith Norval., editors. Pidgins and creoles: An introduction. John Benjamins; Amsterdam: 1994.
    1. Armstrong David F., Stokoe William C., Wilcox Sherman E. Gesture and the nature of language. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge: 1995.
    1. Aronoff Mark. Morphology by itself: Stems and inflectional classes. MIT Press; Cambridge, MA: 1994.

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