User:Lorelaib/American Sign Language grammar

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The grammar of American Sign Language (ASL) has rules just like any other sign language or spoken language. ASL was created by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and fellow researchers, but research is still in its infancy, dating back to William Stokoe in the 1960s. Typical word structure in ASL conforms to the OSV and topic-comment form, supplemented by a noun-adjective order and time-sequenced ordering of clauses. This sign language has large CP and DP syntax systems. ASL also doesn't contain conjunctions like other languages might.

ASL morphology consists of two different processes: derivational morphology and inflectional morphology.

Derivational morphology in ASL occurs when movement in a sign changes the meaning - often between a noun and a verb. For example, for the sign CHAIR, a noun, a person would tap their dominant pointer and middle fingers against their non-dominant pointer and middle fingers twice or more. For the sign SIT, a verb, a person would tap these fingers together only once and with more force.

Inflectional morphology adds units of language to other words. For example, this would be changing 'watch' to 'watches' or 'watching.' In ASL, the sign may remain unchanged as WATCH, or the meaning may change based on NMM (Non-Manual-Markers).

ASL morphology is demonstrated as well in reduplication and indexicality.

Parameters
There are 5 official parameters in American Sign Language that dictate meaning and grammar. There is a 6th honorary parameter known as proximalization.

Signs can share several of the same parameters. The difference in at least one parameter accounts for the difference in meaning or grammar.

Handshape
Handshapes in ASL consist of the fingerspelling alphabet (A-Z) as well as other variations. For BROWN and TAN, the location, movement, and palm orientation are the same, but the handshape differs. It consists of B for BROWN, and T for TAN.

The ASL handshape parameter contains over 55 handshapes, which is over double the amount contained in the Latin-script alphabet. Some of the differences between these handshapes are small. These handshapes play into morphology and how meaning changes based on miniscule details.

Depending on the handshape, a different grammatical meaning can be portrayed.

Palm Orientation
The palm orientation in ASL refers to which direction the hand's center faces during a sign. There are documented differences possible for palm orientation:


 * 1) Palm facing in/out
 * 2) Palm facing up/down
 * 3) Palm facing left/right
 * 4) Palm facing horizontal
 * 5) Palm facing toward other palm

These differences result in different semantic and structural meanings. The signs MAYBE and BALANCE have all of the same parameters except for palm orientation, resulting in different meanings.

Movement
The movement parameter determines how and where the hand moves for a particular sign.(citation 28) The hand can move up and down, forward and backward, in a circular motion, in a tapping rhythm, or many other ways. Like all other parameters, hand movement determines ASL grammar and diction meaning.

This parameter is also where derivational morphology in ASL is most noticeable.(citation 4) Words change between nouns and verbs depending on the movement of the hand. Some examples of these differences are below:

SCISSORS (noun) → pointer and middle finger tap together in a 'cutting' fashion at least twice.

CUT (verb) → pointer and middle finger tap together once and more intensely.

AIRPLANE (noun) → sign for I LOVE YOU is moved forward and backward.

FLY (verb) → sign for I LOVE YOU is moved forward once.

EXAMPLE (noun) → dominant pointer points at non-dominant palm and is shaken in a particular direction at least twice.

SHOW (verb) → dominant pointer points at non-dominant palm and is moved in a particular direction once.

Location
The location parameter is the space in which your hands reside for a certain sign. This space is measured in adjacence to one's body, and resides within the signing space.

A sign may move from one location to another from the beginning to end.(citation 25) Signs in ASL are fluid, and are not always stagnant in one location.

Some common locations for signing are:


 * 1) Chin
 * 2) Forehead
 * 3) Upper chest
 * 4) Shoulder
 * 5) Along the non-dominant arm

This list is non-exhaustive but is a good indicator of where some common signs reside.

Location changes word and sentence meaning, just like all other parameters.(new citation) APPLE and ONION have the same handshape, but different locations along the side of the face.

Non-Manual Markers (NMM)
Non-Manual Markers (NMM), or Non-Manual Signals (NMS) are communication methods not found in the hands. They typically consist of facial expressions and body language. (i'm adding a picture to this section on the live page.) NMMs can change the grammar of a sentence. Not every sign uses non-manual markers, but for many others, these markers determine what sign is being produced.(citation 25)

Some examples of non-manual markers would be the shifting of shoulders, the lowering or raising of eyebrows, a head nod or shake, scrunching of the nose, pursing of the lips, or an open mouth.(new citation1)

NMMs are important for indicating if a question is being asked. For WH- questions, the eyebrows are lowered, and for YES/NO questions, the eyebrows are raised.(new citation) It is hard to indicate if a question is being asked otherwise without facial indicators.

Proximalization
This parameter is a linguistic feature only found in infants with ASL as a primary language. Babies learn and acquire more motor skills in the arms, shoulders, knuckles, and fingers thanks to the early acquisition of signed language.

Due to the exclusivity of this characteristic, as well as being a physical attribute rather than a performed one, this parameter is not widely talked about. It is mostly shared between members of the Deaf community.

Hand dominance
Understanding ASL grammar requires understanding the difference between a signer's dominant and non-dominant hand. (link to handedness goes here). If a person is right-handed, then their right hand is their dominant hand, and their left hand is their non-dominant hand. Almost all signs are completed with the more active, dominant hand, while the non-dominant hand serves as a base. For signs requiring two hands, the dominant hand performs more of the active component.(new citation1)