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ASL is non-indo-european Sign languages are natural, have native speakers Phonology and processes (e.g. assimilation) Morphology Syntax 2
ASL is a(n) language. A) SVO B) OSV C) OVS D) all of the above 3
SVO OSV OVS I-like-candy candy-i-like candy-like-i 4
English Text On the night of March 24, 1832, Joseph Smith had stayed up late caring for his 11-month-old son, Joseph, who was sick with the measles. The Smith family was then living in the John Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio. The Prophet had finally gone to sleep on a trundle bed when a mob of a dozen or more men who had been drinking whiskey broke into the home. The Prophet later described the events of that terrible night: "The mob burst open the door and surrounded the bed in an instant, and... the first I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob. I made a desperate struggle, as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only cleared one leg, with which I made a pass at one man, and he fell on the door steps. I was immediately overpowered again; and they swore... they would kill me if I did not be still, which quieted me... "They then seized me by the throat and held on till I lost my breath. After I came to, as they passed along with me, about thirty rods from the house, I saw Elder Rigdon stretched out on the ground, whither they had dragged him by his heels. I supposed he was dead. I began to plead with them, saying, 'You will have mercy and spare my life, I hope.' To which they replied, '... Call on yer God for help, we'll show ye no mercy.' " ASL Gloss (translated sign) //YEAR 1832, #MARCH 24, NIGHT-TIME, #JS HE\\ STAY-UP- OVERNIGHT, TAKE-CARE BABY SON, NAME J-O-S-E-P-H, //BABY HE\\ AGE 11 MONTH. //HE(baby)\\ SICK M-E-A-S-L-E-S. //THAT TIME- PERIOD\\ S-M-I-T-H FAMILY LIVE INVOLVE J-O-H-N _J-O-H-N-S-O-N HIS HOME, //THAT\\ AREA smallcity H-I-R-A-M O-H-I-O. //PROPHET HE\\ PAH! FALL-ASLEEP. (shocked)happen! //M-O-B GROUP THEM, APPROXIMATE 12 MAN THEM, RECENT ALCOHOL (2h-alt)DRINK- ALCOHOL+++, THEM\\ (rough)door, ENTER-HOME! // THAT TERRIBLE NIGHT-TIME, PROPHET HE, \\ LATER EXPLAIN HAPPEN+++ QUOTE: //M-O-B GROUP THEM AGGRESSIVE, THEM\\ (mob)door, (rough)enter-door, (js)cl:5-surround-me. BAM-IMPACT! //THEM\\ (mob)cl:grab-js-and-pull-him-outside. //ME\\ (js)try CL:FIGHT-RESIST+++, TRY ESCAPE. //HAPPEN, ONE MY #LEG\\ CL:KICK-SOMEONE, CL:PERSON-FALL-DOWN. //BUT! THEM\\ AGAIN, (mob)cl:grab-js, CL:HIT-JS++. //ME\\ (js)hear THEM SPEAK. //(mob)if YOU SPEAK YELL,\\ WE KILL-YOU WILL! //(js)that THEM SPEAK\\ ME QUIET. //<THEM\\ (mob)cl:grab-js, >(roleshift js)cl:grab-my-throat, CL:SQUEEZE-MY-THROAT, //ME\\ PASS-OUT ( fall asleep ). //LATER, ME\\ WAKE-UP, LOOK-AROUND, SEE HOUSE APPROXIMATE 150 M-E- T-E-R FAR. LOOK-OVER, SEE E-L-D-E-R _R-I-G-D-O-N, //HE\\ CL:LAYING-ON-GROUND, //THAT THEM\\ RECENT CL:GRAB-FEET, CL:LAY-HIM-ON-GROUND. //ME WONDER, SUSPECT\\ E-L-D-E-R _R-I- G-D-O-N FINISH DEAD. //ME\\ BEG++ THEM. (pleading)//all-you\\ MERCY-ME++, ALLOW ME LIFE, (pleading). //THEM ANSWER\\ (mob, mockingly)//your GOD\\ YOU ^PRAY-HIM, ^SHOUT-TO-HIM, HELP- YOU. //WE MERCY-YOU\\ NOTHING! 5
Classifiers are used in American Sign Language to show movement, location, and appearance. After a signer indicates a person or thing, a classifier can be used in its place to show where and how it moves, what it looks like, and where it is located. Example of classifiers 6
Shifting shoulders Upper body movement (side to side, backward and forward) Eyebrows - lowered or raised Eyes - opened or closed or widened Gaze - maintain a steady one, or look away then back again, or blinking. Lips - may be pursed or spread, upper lip may be raised Cheeks - may be puffed or tensed Nose - may be wrinkled. 7
http://belindavicars.com/grammar/asl_timeline.ht m
Wh-questions Yes/No Questions Rhetorical Questions Topic Negation 9
Side-to-side Head Shake Frown Lowered Brows Wrinkling of the Nose Raised Upper Lip 10
Choose the right!! WHO LOVE JOHN Who loves John? JOHN LOVE WHO Who does John love? 11
What are they?? Movements of the face, head, and upper body. What are they used for?? Visual intonation Clarification Punctuation/transitions 12
wh [JOHN SEE t i YESTERDAY ] IP WHO i Who did John see yesterday? The wh non-manual feature is held over the whole sentence by c-command. When wh element is in situ, non-manual feature spread is obligatory. When wh moves it is optional. It s always strongest in the node closest to the feature. 13
*WHO JOHN LOVE ( UNGRAMMATICAL ) Native speakers deem this sentence ungrammatical while non-native signers who are also fluent in English categorize this as grammatical! 14
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tm2 JOHN i IX i LIKE MARY As for John, he likes Mary. tm2 *IX i JOHN i LIKE MARY 16
wh tm2 wh WHO VEGETABLE PREFER POTATO WHO Who, as for vegetables, who prefers potatoes? tm2 VEGETABLE WHO PREFER POTATO WHO As for vegetables, who, who prefers potatoes? wh 17
wh WHO LOVE JOHN WHAT Who loves John? 18
wh [JOHN BUY ti YESTERDAY] IP [WHICH COMPUTER] I [WHICH COMPUTER] JOHN BUY ti YESTERDAY] IP WHICH i wh [WHICH COMPUTER][JOHN BUY ti YESTERDAY] IP WHAT i wh *[WHICH COMPUTER][JOHN BUY ti YESTERDAY][WHICH COMPUTER] i 19
wh- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - wh WHAT JOHN LIKE ( WHAT ) WHAT - - - - - - - - WHAT What, what does John like? 20
wh [[TEACHER EXPECT [[ti PASS TEST] IP2 ti] CP2 ] IP1 WHOi] CP1 wh [[TEACHER EXPECT [[ti PASS TEST] IP2 ti] CP2 ] IP1 WHO i ] CP1 wh [[TEACHER EXPECT [[ti PASS TEST] IP2 ti] CP2 ] IP1 WHO i ] CP1 21
Appears in spec VP When a lexical item appears, it bears the nonmanual negation marking which can also extend optionally over the c-command domain of the VP In a sentence containing negation, but no overt lexical item, the non-manual negation marking extends obligatorily over the c- command domain VP. 22
neg JOHN NOT READ BOOK OR neg JOHN READ BOOK 23
Raised eyebrows and backward tilt of head Other ways to show non-manual topic marking: Bodyshifting Widening of eyes A few rapid head nods 24
Head tilt Eye gaze JOHN [POSS] [ ] [FRIEND] NP John s friend 25
Found in the head of IP Tense precedes negation Tense is very time-specific 26
neg JOHN WILL NOT BUY BOOK JOHN FUTURE-TENSE NOT PERFECTIVE neg READ BOOK 27