Making Referents Seen and Heard Across Signed and Spoken Languages: Documenting and Interpreting Cross-Modal Differences in the Use of Enactment

Abstract

Differences in language use and structures between signed and spoken languages have often been attributed to so-called language "modality." Indeed, this is derived from the conception that spoken languages resort to both the oral-aural channel of speech and the visual-kinesic channel of visible bodily action whereas signed languages only resort to the latter. This paper addresses the use of enactment, a depictive communicative strategy whereby language users imitate referents in signed and spoken languages. Reviewing comparative research on enactment, this paper highlights theoretical and methodological shortcomings in prior works. First, a broader set of causal explanations needs to be taken into account when interpreting differences between signing and speaking communities. A more comprehensive conceptual toolbox ensures that differences are not automatically attributed to modality. In particular, less-studied factors of language diversity, like sociolinguistic and cultural ecologies, and how they interact with other factors should be considered. Second, diversity in enactment across signed and spoken languages is shown to be inadequately and insufficiently documented. It is argued that by comparing enactment across more diverse signing and speaking communities and using large, directly comparable corpora, solid analyses can be carried out, enabling a better understanding of how and why different communities use enactment in similar or different ways.

Keywords: comparative linguistics; comparative semiotics; depiction; enactment; gesture; multimodal; sign language.

FIGURE 1

LSFB Corpus, Session 29, S059, Task 12: 00:04:00.002 – 00:04:03.895. Reproduced with permission. The woman starts running and catches the sheet of paper, relieved.

FIGURE 2

FRAPé Corpus, Session 10, L019, Task 12: 00:00:20.074 – 00:00:21.681. Reproduced with permission. [Il y a une jeune dame aussi qui a l’air de partir au travail] qui qui court après un papier. [There’s also a young woman who seems to be leaving for work] who who’s running after a sheet of paper.

FIGURE 3

LSFB Corpus, Session 29, S059, Task 5: 00:03:47.596 – 00:03:50.587. Reproduced with permission. We were signing and my grandmother waved at me: “Stop (signing)”. I looked at her and was like: “What?”.

FIGURE 4

FRAPé Corpus, Session 10, L020, Task 5: 00:04:27.620 – 00:04:35.071. Reproduced with permission. “euh il drache euh c’est”, donc là je vois Guillaume qui tique: (inintelligible) “il drache ?” “Ok Guillaume en fait, (ça veut dire) ‘il pleut très très fort’ en Belgique”. “erm it’s lashing down erm it’s”, so then I see Guillaume flinch: (unintelligible) “it’s lashing down?”. “Ok Guillaume so, (it means) ‘it’s raining lots and lots’ in Belgium”.