Emergence or Grammaticalization? The Case of Negation in Kata Kolok

Languages

Hannah Lutzenberger¹  Roland Pfau²  Connie de Vos³ 

[1] Department of English Language and Literature, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2SQ, UK;Department of Linguistics, University of Amsterdam, 1012 VB Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands;

关键词: Kata Kolok;    negation;    grammaticalization;    language emergence;    language change;    non-manuals;   

DOI  :  10.3390/languages7010023

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Typological comparisons have revealed that signers can use manual elements and/or a non-manual marker to express standard negation, but little is known about how such systematic marking emerges from its gestural counterparts as a new sign language arises. We analyzed 1.73 h of spontaneous language data, featuring six deaf native signers from generations III-V of the sign language isolate Kata Kolok (Bali). These data show that Kata Kolok cannot be classified as a manual dominant or non-manual dominant sign language since both the manual negative sign and a side-to-side headshake are used extensively. Moreover, the intergenerational comparisons indicate a considerable increase in the use of headshake spreading for generation V which is unlikely to have resulted from contact with Indonesian Sign Language varieties. We also attest a specialized negative existential marker, namely, tongue protrusion, which does not appear in co-speech gesture in the surrounding community. We conclude that Kata Kolok is uniquely placed in the typological landscape of sign language negation, and that grammaticalization theory is essential to a deeper understanding of the emergence of grammatical structure from gesture.

【 授权许可】

Unknown