Adam Schembri

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Syntax: the structure of sentences in Auslan

The previous chapter examined the structure of the lexicon of Auslan. In this chapter, we discuss the syntax of Auslan. Syntax refers to the rules or conventions in a language that relate to the correct or acceptable ordering of words in a sentence. In English, for example, there is a syntactic rule that requires words such as a or the to precede a noun like man or woman in order to create phrases such as the man or a woman . Combinations such as man the are not acceptable phrase structures in English. Similarly, in Auslan, there conventionally accepted sign orders which we discuss below. In contrast to descriptions of English syntax, however, the discussion of Auslan syntax in this chapter is very brief. There is also relatively more available information on the syntax of other signed languages, particularly ASL. Much of this research on ASL sentence structure, however, has been based on studies that elicit judgements about the acceptability of particular sentence structures from native signers (e.g., Neidle et al ., 2000; Sandler & Lillo-Martin, 2006). Recall from Chapter 2 that most signers, including native signers, live and communicate in a complex language contact situation. This makes acceptability judgements difficult to evaluate and researchers therefore need to take actual usage into account. However, research into usage requires a large amount of data (i.e., a corpus ) to be collected, coded and analysed. Due to recent advancements in digital video and annotation technology (see Chapter 10), work of this kind has only recently begun in Australia (Johnston & Schembri, 2006), and thus a comprehensive account of Auslan syntax will only emerge in the future.

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Semantics and pragmatics: sign meaning and sentence meaning

Semantics refers to the study of meaning in language (i.e., how words and sentences are used to convey particular meanings). But what is ‘meaning’? How do we understand what the signs and sentences used in Auslan or other languages actually mean? Although most people may not be confused about what the word meaning refers to, providing a clear explanation of how language structure makes meaning is not an easy task. In fact, philosophers dating back to Aristotle and Plato have pondered the relationship between language, meaning and the world, and it is still an area in which there is much debate and diversity of ideas (Saeed, 1997). Understanding how language creates meaning is a highly complex task, because it needs to take into account all the different ways language structure is used to convey information. We shall look at some of the ways signed languages do this in this chapter, but we will begin by examining some of the misconceptions around the concept of meaning in language. We will then examine different types of meaning in Auslan signs, before moving on to look at iconicity. This is followed by a discussion of sentence meaning, and the chapter ends with an exploration of pragmatics (i.e., the study of meaning and context). Auslan signs, English words and meaning One very common misconception about the semantics of Auslan stems from a misunderstanding of the relationship between English and Auslan. We have already discussed this issue in some detail in Chapter 1, but we will revisit it briefly here.

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Phonetics and phonology: the building blocks of signs

One of the defining features of language is that the symbols that are used in language can be broken down into smaller discrete parts or segments (Hockett, 1960). In this chapter, we explore in detail how segmentation applies to the signs used in a signed language. As linguistics has traditionally focused on the study of speech, many of the key concepts and much of the terminology used in the study of signed languages have been adapted from the description of spoken languages. We thus begin with a brief outline of the internal structure of words in spoken languages. We then move on to discuss the internal structure of signs, how they may be classified into different types based on their formational characteristics, and how their structure is influenced by a number of constraints. The internal structure of words The words in a spoken language like English are not produced simply as a random combination of sounds, but are made from a limited set of sounds. Sounds from this limited set are used to build all the hundreds of thousands of words in the English language. In traditional models of spoken language phonology, these sounds act as the smallest contrastive units of the language, because a change in even one of these sounds can change the meaning of the word, as in the contrast between the words pet versus bet . Following Bloomfield (1933), the smallest segments of sounds that are used to distinguish two words have come to be known as phonemes . The number of phonemes varies from language to language, although most languages appear to have between 20 and 40 (Crystal, 1997).

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Signed languages and linguistics

In this chapter, we discuss the discovery of signed languages as real languages and describe their place within modern linguistics. We begin by defining language and linguistics. First, we explore some of the properties language shares with other systems of communications, as well as features that may make language unique. Second, we introduce the field of linguistics—the scientific study of language—and its major areas of investigation. We then discuss signed language linguistics and its history, examine common myths and misconceptions about signed languages, and describe the relationship between signed languages and other forms of gestural communication. What is language? One of the aims of the field of linguistics is to understand exactly what language is, so providing a definition is difficult because the study of language is very much work in progress. In addition, many contemporary textbooks in linguistics discuss definitions of language that were proposed before signed languages were recognised as real languages. Thus, in order to provide a working definition of language, we will draw on a useful summary first provided by the researchers Charlotte Baker and Dennis Cokely (1980): a language is a complex system of communication with a vocabulary of conventional symbols and grammatical rules that are shared by members of a community and passed on from one generation to the next, that changes across time, and that is used to exchange an open-ended range of ideas, emotions and intentions. This working definition draws on a number of key features that were proposed by Charles Hockett (1960) to be central aspects of language structure and function: the use of arbitrary symbols, grammaticality, discreteness, duality of patterning, cultural transmission, inter-changeability, reflexiveness, displacement and creativity.

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Auslan in social context

In the previous chapter, we saw that signed languages are now recognised as real languages. In this chapter, we place signed languages in their social context and describe how language use in signing communities differs from that found in spoken language communities. For example, we explain how signed languages are often only found as primary languages in deaf communities which are small linguistic minorities embedded within much larger communities using spoken languages. These spoken languages, in turn, often have written forms, which are used by literate signers. The types of signed communication that evolve in deaf communities given this relationship between signed and spoken (written) languages—such as natural signed languages, artificial sign systems and natural sign systems (Fischer, 1998)—is explained in this chapter. Importantly, the question of variation in signed language is also examined. The deaf population, the deaf community and the Auslan-using population Only a very small percentage of the Australian population is severely or profoundly deaf. The prevalence of deafness in developed societies has long been estimated to be about 0.1 per cent of the population (i.e., one in one thousand people) (Schein, 1968; Schein & Delk, 1974). If this were the case, there would be approximately 20,000 deaf Auslan users out of a population of approximately 20 million in 2005. The precise number of signing deaf people in Australia is, however, unknown. Published estimates have ranged from as low as 7,000 (Power, 1987) to as high as 30,000 (Deaf Society of NSW, 1989).

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Frontmatter

1. Signed languages and linguistics 2. Auslan in social context 3. Auslan and other signed languages 4. Phonetics and phonology: the building blocks of signs 5. Morphology: sign formation and modification 6. Lexicon: the structure of Auslan vocabulary 7. Syntax: the structure of sentences in Auslan 8. Semantics and pragmatics: sign meaning and sentence meaning 9. Discourse: structure and use above the sentence 10. Issues in the study of signed languages.

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Index

1. Signed languages and linguistics 2. Auslan in social context 3. Auslan and other signed languages 4. Phonetics and phonology: the building blocks of signs 5. Morphology: sign formation and modification 6. Lexicon: the structure of Auslan vocabulary 7. Syntax: the structure of sentences in Auslan 8. Semantics and pragmatics: sign meaning and sentence meaning 9. Discourse: structure and use above the sentence 10. Issues in the study of signed languages.

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Acknowledgements

1. Signed languages and linguistics 2. Auslan in social context 3. Auslan and other signed languages 4. Phonetics and phonology: the building blocks of signs 5. Morphology: sign formation and modification 6. Lexicon: the structure of Auslan vocabulary 7. Syntax: the structure of sentences in Auslan 8. Semantics and pragmatics: sign meaning and sentence meaning 9. Discourse: structure and use above the sentence 10. Issues in the study of signed languages.

Australian Sign Language (Auslan): Contents

1. Signed languages and linguistics 2. Auslan in social context 3. Auslan and other signed languages 4. Phonetics and phonology: the building blocks of signs 5. Morphology: sign formation and modification 6. Lexicon: the structure of Auslan vocabulary 7. Syntax: the structure of sentences in Auslan 8. Semantics and pragmatics: sign meaning and sentence meaning 9. Discourse: structure and use above the sentence 10. Issues in the study of signed languages.