Parts of speech in Russian Sign Language: The role of iconicity and economy
In this paper, we present data that shed light on the parts of speech system of Russian Sign Language (RSL), in particular, the noun-verb distinction. An experimental study revealed that in RSL, specific phonological differences distinguish between nouns and verbs; these include differences
in movement, handshape, orientation, location, and mouthing. The attested differences, which are subject to variation among the signers, can co-occur with each other. The patterns we found cannot be accounted for by models that have previously been proposed for other sign languages (e.g. American
Sign Language and Australian Sign Language). We argue that these differences may result from the higher iconicity of verbs and the higher economy of nouns.
Keywords: Russian Sign Language; iconicity; nouns; parts of speech; phonology; verbs
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 January 2009
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content