A Study on the Aspectual System of Chinese Sign Language (Shanghai Dialect)
Liu Hongyu & Fu Jilin
(Fudan University, YanshanUniversity)
Abstract:
Unlike spoken language, sign languages, via visual modality, have displayed a unique set of
morphosyntactic strategies in expressing aspectual concept. Data from literature show that aspectual
categories in sign languages are mainly realized through the changes of path movement,
modifications of the prosodic features such as movement rhythm, speed, and repetition of signs.
Non-manual features also contain distinctive aspectual information.
Based on a critical review on aspect study in sign languages around the world, this study
explores the aspectual system of Chinese sign language, Shanghai Dialect, in particular, by making a
tentative description and interpretation of its aspectual categories and aspectual marking strategies.
Based on fieldwork data and elicited experimental data, we identify a few significant aspectual
categories and aspectual markers of Shanghai sign dialect. The prominent aspect categories in
Shanghai sign dialect based on our observation are perfect, progressive and iterative aspect. The
specific strategies include affixation of the grammaticalized signs of WAN (to finish), and YOU (to
have) in a relatively limited range of expressions. Repetition, hold, non-manual gestures such as
mouthing, change of the path movement of a particular sign, and merging of two lexical signs(the
main verb and the grammaticalized functional sign affix) also play significant role in marking aspect
concept in Shanghai sign dialect. The specific aspectual values of different aspect markers are
discussed. Roughly, the strategies fall into two types: the lexical and the morphological ones. We
further on analyzes the grammaticalization path of these two different types of aspectual marking
identified in Shanghai sign language, namely, the inflection of the phonological manners of the signs
(movements, rhythm, non-manual gestures ) and the aspectual modulation of the manual signs with
the lexical markers such as WAN(to finish) and YOU(to have). The former type of aspect marking
exhibits strong iconicity. This reflects a strong visual resemblance of the signs and its counterpart
actions in physical world. A close link between aspect and action manner in Shanghai sign verbs is
also revealed. We discuss the aspect problem of Shanghai sign language from the angle of the lexical
aspect, Aktionsarten, as well as grammatical aspect, to enrich our study into verbal aspect in
Shanghai sign language.
1 / 2 Keywords:
Shanghai Sign Language; aspectual marker; aspectual system
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University, Research directions: Sign Linguistics; Psycholinguistics; Linguistics and Applied
linguistics
Email: 11110110006@fudan.edu.cn; hyliu@ysu.edu.cn
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2 / 2 86-13103350972;
86-18221865005