Grammaticalization of points in Nicaraguan signing
Transcript of Grammaticalization of points in Nicaraguan signing
Grammaticalization of points in
Nicaraguan signing
Marie CoppolaUniversity of Connecticut
Departments of Psychology and Linguistics
Ann Senghas Barnard College of Columbia University
Department of Psychology
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Grammaticalization Pathways(Hopper & Traugott, 1993; Janzen & Shaffer 2002; Wilcox, 2004; Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
OLD ENGLISH PRESENT DAY ENGLISH
WILLAN WILL / ‘LL
Lexicalitem
GrammaticalElement
spoken language
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OLD LSF LSF
Grammaticalization Pathways(Hopper & Traugott, 1993; Janzen & Shaffer 2002; Wilcox, 2004; Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
OLD ENGLISH PRESENT DAY ENGLISH
WILLAN WILL / ‘LL
“to leave” future marker
Lexicalitem
GrammaticalElement
sign language
spoken language
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Non-LexicalForms
• Conventional Gesture• Manner• Non-manuals
OLD LSF LSF
Grammaticalization Pathways(Hopper & Traugott, 1993; Janzen & Shaffer 2002; Wilcox, 2004; Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
OLD ENGLISH PRESENT DAY ENGLISH
WILLAN WILL / ‘LL
“to leave” future marker
Lexicalitem
GrammaticalElement
sign language
spoken language
2
Non-LexicalForms
• Conventional Gesture• Manner• Non-manuals
OLD LSF LSF
Grammaticalization Pathways(Hopper & Traugott, 1993; Janzen & Shaffer 2002; Wilcox, 2004; Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
OLD ENGLISH PRESENT DAY ENGLISH
WILLAN WILL / ‘LL
future marker
GrammaticalElement
sign language
spoken language
2
Non-LexicalForms
OLD LSF LSF
Grammaticalization Pathways(Hopper & Traugott, 1993; Janzen & Shaffer 2002; Wilcox, 2004; Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
OLD ENGLISH PRESENT DAY ENGLISH
WILLAN WILL / ‘LL
future marker
GrammaticalElement
POINTS
sign language
spoken language
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Nicaraguan children today
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Nicaraguan teens today
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Nicaraguan adults today
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secondcohort
1980s
firstcohort
1970s
thirdcohort
1990s
The emergence of the Nicaraguan Deaf community
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co-existing cohorts of learners
1980 1985 1990 1995
second cohort
third cohort
By comparing signers of different ages today, we can see the course of language emergence.
first cohortToday
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Homesigner in Nicaragua
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secondcohort
1980s
firstcohort
1970s
thirdcohort
1990s
The emergence of Nicaraguan Sign Language
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secondcohort
1980s
firstcohort
1970s
thirdcohort
1990s
The emergence of Nicaraguan Sign Language
HomesignSystems
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secondcohort
1980s
firstcohort
1970s
thirdcohort
1990s
The emergence of Nicaraguan Sign Language
HomesignSystems
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• 16 deaf people participated! 4 Homesigners who don’t know NSL or each other! 4 signers from Cohort 1 of NSL! 4 signers from Cohort 2 of NSL! 4 signers from Cohort 3 of NSL
• Each person saw a cartoon of Tweety the bird and Sylvester the cat, and then signed the story to another person
• Every point identified and coded– points to real object (n = 11)– points to empty space and chest (n = 542)
Method
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all YOUNGlearners!
• 16 deaf people participated! 4 Homesigners who don’t know NSL or each other! 4 signers from Cohort 1 of NSL! 4 signers from Cohort 2 of NSL! 4 signers from Cohort 3 of NSL
• Each person saw a cartoon of Tweety the bird and Sylvester the cat, and then signed the story to another person
• Every point identified and coded– points to real object (n = 11)– points to empty space and chest (n = 542)
Method
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concrete abstract
FORM
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concrete abstract
FORM
real space on the right
point to a space on the right
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concrete abstract
FORM
real space on the right
point to a space on the right
story space(e.g., to a
character’s right)
point to a space on the right
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concrete abstract
FORM
real space on the right
point to a space on the right
story space(e.g., to a
character’s right)
point to a space on the right
story character(not space!)
point to a space on the right
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FORM
real space on the right
point to a space on the right
story space(e.g., to a
character’s right)
point to a space on the right
story character(not space!)
point to a space on the right
gesture language
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FORM
story space(e.g., to a
character’s right)
point to a space on the right
story character(not space!)
point to a space on the right
gesture language
reliability = 95%11
FORM
story space(e.g., to a
character’s right)
point to a space on the right
story character(not space!)
point to a space on the right
gesture language
MEANING
Locative (place) point
Nominal (noun) point
reliability = 95%11
Point that refers to a location
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Point that refers to a character
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Locative points do not change but nominal points increase
Coppola & Senghas, Sign Languages, D. Brentari, Ed., Cambridge University Press, 2010.
0
25.0
50.0
75.0
100.0
Homesigners Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Cohort 3
(Poi
nts
/ tot
al s
igns
) x
1000
Locative points Nominal pointsp < .01p = n.s.
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Nominal points fill subject slots
0
15
30
45
60
Homesigners Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Cohort 3
Num
ber
of c
ombi
natio
ns
Verb + Nominal point Nominal point + Verb
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Emergence ofSubject + Verb combinations
0
15
30
45
60
Homesigners Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Cohort 3
Num
ber
of c
ombi
natio
ns
Noun + Nominal pointNominal point + Noun
0
15.0
30.0
45.0
60.0
Homesigners Cohort 1 Cohort 2 Cohort 3
Verb + Nominal pointNominal point + Verb
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Proposed grammaticalizationpath for points(Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
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Proposed grammaticalizationpath for points(Pfau & Steinbach 2006)
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In Nicaragua, within 30 years, the “simple” point has evolved:• from gesture that picks out a real object• to an abstract point at empty air
– that refers to some non-present referent– at some non-present time– serving a particular linguistic role in the
sentence (such as syntactic subject)
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Language emergence followsthe path of historical language change and grammaticalization
in a shorter time span.
We propose that the same mechanisms underlie both kinds
of language change.
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Future analyses
• Began with points and compared their functions in the grammar
• Next: begin with characters and track how signers refer to them throughout the narrative
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Acknowledgements
All participants and their familiesNicaraguan National Deaf Association
Melania Morales Center for Special Education
Molly Flaherty, Jennie Pyers,& Deanna Gagne
Funding sources:National Institutes of Health: NIDCD (to Ann Senghas)
National Institutes of Health: NIDCD (to Susan Goldin-Meadow)National Science Foundation (to Diane Brentari)
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