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Theme, Rheme, Topic, and Comment in the Syntax of American Sign Language
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Ingram, Robert M. – Sign Language Studies, 1978
The syntax of lexical units, or signs, of American Sign Language (ASL) is analyzed. Previous areas of study concerning pauses, functional sentence perspective, theme and rheme, and topic and comment are discussed. A model is offered to depict topic-comment relationships in ASL using space, vectors, and relationship rules. (SW)
Descriptors: Language Patterns, Linguistic Theory, Manual Communication, Sign Language
The Case for Grammar, Order, and Position in ASL: A Reply to Bouchard and Dubuisson.
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Kegl, Judy; And Others – Sign Language Studies, 1996
Replies to issues raised by Bouchard and Dubuisson (B&D) (1995) about American Sign Language (ASL), refuting B&D's assertion that visual-gestural languages are not bound by any universal constraints on word order and reaffirming that ASL is a highly configurational language with a basic underlying syntactic structure as well as an…
Descriptors: American Sign Language, Linguistic Theory, Morphology (Languages), Structural Analysis (Linguistics)
Grammar, Order, and Position of Wh- Signs in Quebec Sign Language.
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Bouchard, Denis; Dubuisson, Colette – Sign Language Studies, 1995
Using data from American and Quebec Sign Languages, this article argues against linguistic theories that postulate either that a language has a basic order determined by universal principles or that there is a single universal order for all languages. Maintains that there are other means a language can use to indicate what elements combine…
Descriptors: American Sign Language, Foreign Countries, Grammar, Language Universals