ASL III
What’s the difference between…
Language and
Communication?
ASL and Gesture?
ASL and SEE
Communication doesn’t need
language to communicate.
Language NEEDS communication in
order to communicate.
Communication – can be by drawing,
gesture, flag, etc.
Language – has symbols to govern
the language for communication
purpose.
ASL is a TRUE language.
Gesture is not a language.
SEE – is not a language. It’s a
method to teach deaf children
English.
ASL – native language used
by deaf people.
Sign Language Continuum
American Sign Language
(ASL)
Signing in English Word
Order
Assumptions of modern languages
(OSU, 1991)
Writing does not exist everywhere that
spoken/signed language exists.
There are many communities in the
world where a written form of language
is not used, even in those cultures
using a writing system there are
individuals who fail to learn the written
form of their language. (illiterate)
Writing must be taught,
whereas spoken/signed
language is acquired
automatically.
Language
&
Culture
Historical language changes
English: far out, groovy,
awesome, cool, sweet, gay
dumb
ASL: COW, HORSE, DONKEY, DEAF,
SISTER/BROTHER, COMPUTER,
WIFE/HUSBAND, MICROWAVE,
HOME (EAT&SLEEP)
_______________t _____________q
ASL ITSELF TRUE LANGUAGE(wg)?
ASL is not a written language, nor is
there a word-for-sign correlation
between ASL and English. For these
reasons, this class/textbooks uses
glosses to identify the meaning of
signs and signed sentences.
These glosses are not intended to be the
only appropriate English translation, nor
are they exact interpretations of signs.
The glosses included in this
class/textbooks are cues primarily for
instructor to use in linking meaning with
the sign or signed discourse.
Linguistics is the scientific
study of human language.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics
Linguistic Components
Semantics
Pragmatic
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Linguistic Components
Semantics
Pragmatic
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
semantics
The meanings of words and how they
combine into sentence meanings.
The study of MEANING. (Longman, 1992)
Word or Sign may have
one meaning
or
multiple meanings.
semantics
Ends
Twenty-year friendship ends at altar.
The show ends tomorrow.
The road ends in a cul-de-sac.
Run
Pat ran home. (go fast by foot)
The water is running. (liquid flow)
There’s a run in your hose. (tear in stocking)
Chris wants to run for president. (compete)
Examples from Buckley (2004)
semantics
Pool
I put five dollars in the pool.
I threw a stone into the pool.
Bank
Ridge/side of the river
Financial institution
Examples from Buckley (2004)
Semantics: more examples
Cast
- process for selecting a cast of actors.
- to put a cast or a splint on the arm to
keep the bones from moving.
- to cast your fishing rod.
Semantics: more examples
File
Arm
Can
Mean
Train
There is more than one correct
sign or group of signs that can be
used to express the meaning of
an English word or words.
A concept expressed in an ASL sign
often cannot be conveyed by a single
all-purpose English word. Likewise,
English words and phrases may
have variations in meaning, which
require translations using different
ASL signs.
semantic examples
Play (playing cards, act/show)
Shot (tired, drink, sent, went over)
Bark ( Yell, tree, dog)
Semantic examples
Bar (place to drink, metal rod)
Jump (jumping jacks, jumping from
something)
Watch (watching someone, wrist watch)
Space (outer space, extra space, spaced
out)
Stamp (post stamp, stamp on hand)
semantic examples
Board (at the front of a room, piece of
wood, get on -plane)
Bound (have your mind stuck)
Bound (can’t get out of something)
Star (someone famous)
Star (something in the sky)
Semantic examples
That’s cool
Be Cool
Cool it off
Drive my car
You drive me crazy
Drive by
I need a break
Break a leg
Give us a break
Semantics: With your group, come
up with different ways to use the
following words:
-
Bill
Fall
Cheer
Lie
Duck
-Sink
-Book
-Hand
-Squash
-Hard
-Lift
-Ship
-Crash
- Fly
-Bat
-Game
- Cold
-Model
-Tape
Also…. Different sentences mean the
same thing.
For example:
1) John is an unmarried male.
John is a bachelor.
2) The car bumped the truck.
The truck was bumped by the car.
3) What do you do?
What do you do for living?
4) How are you?
How have you been?
Howdy?
Whassup?
Remember….
ASL ≠ English
Semantics….
MEANING.
The study of ________________
Linguistic Components
Semantics
Pragmatic
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
pragmatic
How the interpretation and use of
utterances depends on knowledge of the
real world. (Longman, 1992)
The effect of situation on language use.
(Buckley, 2004)
Meaning and context (OSU, 1991)
pragmatic
These sentences can all express the same
request, but often indirectly. (Buckley,
2004)
Please shut the window
I wonder if we should shut the window.
It’s cold in here.
Do you feel a draft?
“Ask
the man upstairs.”
Pragmatic: more examples
Does it look like rain?
It’s going to rain.
Did you feel water drops?
What are you doing tonight?
Got any plans tonight?
Anything fun going on?
Can I go with you?
pragmatics
I need something to eat.
I want to eat.
I can eat a horse.
pragmatics
“Have you got any cash on you?”
where the speaker really wants the listener
to understand the meaning:
“Can you lend me some money? I don't
have much on me.”
Pragmatics
She dribbled the ball down the court and
shot a basket.
The birds and the bees.
Keep Austin Weird
pragmatic examples
Do you want go out to eat dinner with me?
Would you like to see a movie?
It is too long of a trip to go up the stairs.
 I get tired every time I walk up there.
 Could the door be any further away?
Pragmatics
There’s a bear behind you!
There’s a bear behind you.
Run!
Did you know there’s a bear behind you?
What’s that bear doing in here?
Pragmatics & Semantics
Semantics focuses on the
meaning depending on the
context (pragmatics)…
Linguistic Components
Semantics
Pragmatic
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Syntax
How words are organized into sentences.
The study of how words combine to form a
sentence and the rules which govern the
formation of sentences. (Longman, 1992)
Syntax
English basic word order is
Subject+Verb+Object (“SVO”).
Kim ate oranges.
ASL basic word order is
Subject/Object+Verb (“SOV” or ”OSV”)
ORANGE KIM EAT-FINISH
KIM ORANGE SHE EAT-FINISH
**Basic** ASL Grammar Order
1) TIME Reference (not duration or tense)
2) TOPIC
a) Direct Object
i) assign reference point, if necessary
ii) adjectives for direct object
b) Subject
i) assign reference point, if necessary
ii) adjectives for subject
3) COMMENT
a) Reference point for Object and Subject
b) Verbs
i) Adverbs are implied in nonmanual signals
i) Verb aspects
iii) Helping/conditional verbs come after the main
“action” verb.
4) WH-Q
YES/NO-Q
Negation/Assertion
Tense (If Time Reference not included. It would be redundant.)
Source: Amanda Noark Revised by Lisa Gelineau
Syntax
Example:
English – I have to buy the book.
S
O
conditional verb
main verb
(CV)
(MV)
ASL - BOOK
O
ME BUY HAVE-TO[AF-FO]
S
MV
CV
Syntax
More examples:
I went to a grocery store yesterday.
Did he buy the toaster?
She will buy a car.
Linguistic Components
Semantics
Pragmatic
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Morphology
- the study of smallest meaningful
unit in a language.
- how new words are created from
smaller pieces. (Buckley, 2004)
Morphology
 Basic Concept
 Numeral Incorporation
 Verb-Noun pairs
 Compounds
 Temporal Aspect
 Reduplication
 Subject-Object Agreement
 Morphemes
 Classifiers
 And many more…
Morphology: Basic Concept
- everyday vocabulary
HOUSE, BOAT, SHOES,
CANDY, BOOK, CHAIR, BOY
Morphology: Numeral Incorporation
– signs with numbers in it
4-MINUTES, 2-WEEKS, 4-MONTHS,
2-YEARS, THREE-O’CLOCK
Morphology: Noun-Verb Pairs
English:
ASL:
Noun
cónvict
ségment
prótest
Verb
convíct
segmént
protést
AIRPLANE
CHAIR
BOOK
CLOTHES
NEWSPAPER
FLY-TO
SIT
OPEN-BOOK
PUT-ON-CLOTHES
PRINT
Morphology: Noun-Verb Pairs
Differences:
English:1) placement of stress
2) stress influences vowel
ASL:
1) frequency (single or repeated)
2) directionality
3) manner (continuous or hold)
Morphology: Compounds
English:
Hatrack
Blackboard
Homework
Greenhouse
ASL:
RED^HAIR
TRUE^WORK
FACE^STRONG
FEEL^LIKE
Morphology: Compounds
Two signs joined to become a new sign.
The movement of each sign is reduced to one time each.
Ex: SLEEP + CLOTHES
1x
1x
EAT + MORNING
1x
0x
Some signs have historical changes.
Ex:
BIRD = BEAK + WINGS
Now = BEAK
SPRING = SUMMER + GROW
Now = GROW++
Some signs have fluidity principle: formerly two different handshapes, now
two similar handshapes.
Ex:
HUSBAND
SISTER
Morphology: Compounds
English
ASL (GLOSS)
Breakfast
Grocery
Accidentally, by chance, fate
Gold
Buy
Just as if, it’s like, for example
Closely resemble, bears a
strong resemblance to
Look like, resemble
Money in reserve
To talk about, mention
Parents
Siblings
EAT+MORNING
FOOD+BUY
WRONG+HAPPEN
EARRING+YELLOW
MONEY+GIVE-TO
THINK+SAME-AS
FACE+STRONG
FACE+SAME-AS
MONEY+BEHIND
TALK+NAME
MOTHER+FATHER
SISTER+BROTHER
Morphology: Morpheme
1) Unladylike
The word unladylike consists of three
morphemes.
Morpheme breaks:
a) un- 'not'
b) lady '(well behaved) female adult
human'
c) like 'having the characteristics of‘
 None of these morphemes can be broken up any
more without losing all sense of meaning. Lady
cannot be broken up into "la" and "dy," even though
"la" and "dy" are separate syllables. Note that each
syllable has no meaning on its own.
Morphemes: More Examples in English
2) Dogs
The word dogs consists of two morphemes.
Morpheme breaks:
a) dog, and
b) -s, a plural marker on nouns
Morphemes: More Examples in English
3) Technique
The word technique consists of only one
morpheme.
Even though the word has two syllables, it is a
single morpheme because it cannot be broken
down into smaller meaningful parts.
(Buckley, 2004)
Morphemes: Examples in ASL
1) 600 (six hundred)
The sign 600 consists of two morphemes.
Morpheme breaks:
a) 6 – 'a number'
b) CL: C - 'hundred‘ (handshape classifier)
Morphemes: More Examples in ASL
2) PUDDLE
The sign PUDDLE consists of two morphemes.
Morpheme breaks:
a) WATER
b) CL: bend-L bend-L
Morphemes: More Examples in ASL
3) BASEBALL
The sign BASEBALL consists of
only one morpheme.
Linguistic Components
Semantics
Pragmatic
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology
Phonology
The study of the smallest sounds or units
in a language.
The use and patterning of sounds/signs
in language. (Buckley, 2004)
 distinctive sound/sign units of a
language (Longman, 1992)
Phonology
Spoken Language – 3 parameters
1) Place of articulation (where)
2) Manner of articulation (how)
3) VOICING ( + OR -)
a) Voiceless: s, f, p, k
b) Voiced: z, v, b, g
Phonology
English examples:
pat
pad
dog
dogs
cónvict (n)
convíct (v)
Phonology
Sign Language – 5 parameters
1) Handshape
2) Location
3) Movement
4) Palm Orientation
5) Non-manual Signals
Phonology
ASL examples:
SOUR
PRINT
APPLE
DEFINE
HOME
MAYBE
WHY?
PRETTY
Location
BORING
NEWSPAPER Movement
Location
ONION
Movement
DELAY
Handshape
YESTERDAY
Palm Orientation
BALANCE
BECAUSE Non-Manual Signals
GORGEOUS Non-Manual Signals
Sources
 Structure of ASL lecture notes - Byron Bridges
 University of Pennsylvania, Introduction to Linguistics lecture notes online Gene Buckley
 B. Bridges & M. Metzger.(1996) Deaf Tend Your. Silver Spring, MD:
Calliope Press.
 B. Bridges & K. Cagle. The Fifth Parameter: Non-Manual Signals.
(videotape/DVD - soon to be released)
 C. Lucas & C. Valli. (1995, 2nd ed.) Linguistics of American Sign Language:
An Introduction. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
 SLNG 1445 course lecture notes at Austin Community College by Byron
Bridges, Nathie Marbury, and Lisa Gelineau.
 OSU (1991) Language Files, 5th edition. Dept of linguistic at Ohio State
University.
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.dictionary.com
Read/Convey Multiple Meaning Signs
Understand ASL Concepts
Word Choice: Ability to Convey
Conceptual Signs
Sign Vocabulary: Accuracy, Clarity
Develop Sense of Whole Message