Cylinders, planes, lines and points
Suggestions for a new conception of the handshape parameter in sign languages
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19437325 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Onno Crasborn (0000-0003-4985-9097, Department of Linguistics, University of Nijmegen, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Pages | 25-32 |
| Publication date | 2003-11-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Linguistics in the Netherlands (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0929-7332 • E-ISSN: 1569-9919 |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1075/avt.20.06cra |
| OpenAlex | W2056469934 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
The phonological specification of lexical items in sign languages has centered around different properties of the whole hand. Its shape, orientation and location are specified for each sign, while changes in these properties result in movement. This paper contributes evidence for the claim that the phonologically specified articulator in sign languages is not always the hand as a whole. Rather, the articulator is argued to consist of a more abstract perceptual specification, which is typically articulated by the fingers. The evidence consists of the phonetic use of fingers that are flexed to different degrees for the purpose of articulating phonological specifications that do not refer to the fingers (i.e. are not articulations of handshape features). A set of perceptual categories is put forward which consists of zero-, one-, two-and three-dimensional objects, which can be seen as a first step away from the central role of the hand in all phonological descriptions and analyses since Stokoe (1960)
Geometry · Linguistics · Mathematical analysis · Computer Science · Hand Gesture Recognition Systems · Hearing Impairment and Communication · Mathematics · Philosophy · Phonetics and Phonology Research
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |