Explaining
the morphophonology of sign language: Understanding the linguistics of sign
language (Part 4)
In my last blog post, we looked at the morphology of
sign language and considered certain morphological processes that takes place
within signs. In case you missed that post, you can check it up via the link
below:
https://medgronah.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-signs-are-meaningful-understanding.html
There are other morphological processes in sign
language which were not discussed in the last blog post. Some of these morphological
processes are best described under the term morphophonology because of
the interaction between the morphology and phonological parameters. To read
more about the phonology of the sign, check my blog post on phonology via the link below:
https://medgronah.blogspot.com/2020/09/on-face-and-body-internal-structure-of.html
MORPHOPHONOLOGY deals with the study of the
interaction of word formation with the sound system of a language. In sign
language research, we discuss morphophonology in terms of the interaction
between the morphology (how words are formed) and the phonology (the structure
of the signs). The morphophonological processes to be discussed in this blog
post include assimilation, numeral incorporation, movement epenthesis and
deletion. We shall consider other processes later in subsequent posts.
Assimilation
as a morphophonological process means that a sign segment takes on the
characteristics of another segment near it, usually the one just before it or
after it (1). Numeral incorporation explained below is a product of
phonological assimilation.
Numeral incorporation
is a morphological process that attaches a number to a meaningful segment to
derive new meanings. For example, adding the numeral TWO to the sign WEEK would
derive a blend of TWO-WEEKS where the handshape of the sign TWO is
phonologically incorporated into the new segment. In the examples below,
signers of AdaSL and GSL use numeral incorporation for THREE-GO and the handshape
for the lexical sign GO changes or assimilate to the handshape for THREE
depicting THREE (PEOPLE) GO.
Movement epenthesis is
the insertion of movement in a sign. Signs do occur in sequence and sometimes a
movement is inserted between the first and the last segment of a sign. For example,
the GSL sign SISTER is a compound of GIRL and SAME. This is realised as GIRL-MOVEMENT-SAME
as shown in the image below.
Deletion occurs
when certain phonological features of a sign are deleted when they occur in
sequence. For example, the sign SON in GSL is a compound of BOY and BABY. However,
in the output form of this sign, there is deletion of one hand for the sign
BABY.
SON in GSL incorporates movement epenthesis and metathesis.
Segments of a sign can change places and this process of changing place is
called metathesis. For example, the citation form of BABY is signed with the
two hands/or palms lying on each other. However, when BABY is attached to BOY
to derive SON, the sign segment change places.
SON= BOY-MOVEMENT-BABY (DELETION+METATHESIS)
We shall continue this discussion in another post.
Feel free to post your questions and comments.
References
1. Valli,
C., Lucas, C., Mulrooney, K. & Villanueva, M., 2011. Linguistics of
American sign language: An introduction. 5th Edition ed. Washington DC:
Gallaudet University Press.
2. McGuire,
C. & Deutsch, C., 2015. Ghanaian Sign Language Dictionary. Second ed. Our
Talking Hands, Inc.
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