Sign LanguagesDiane Brentari Cambridge University Press, 27 mag 2010 What are the unique characteristics of sign languages that make them so fascinating? What have recent researchers discovered about them, and what do these findings tell us about human language more generally? This thematic and geographic overview examines more than forty sign languages from around the world. It begins by investigating how sign languages have survived and been transmitted for generations, and then goes on to analyse the common characteristics shared by most sign languages: for example, how the use of the visual system affects grammatical structures. The final section describes the phenomena of language variation and change. Drawing on a wide range of examples, the book explores sign languages both old and young, from British, Italian, Asian and American to Israeli, Al-Sayyid Bedouin, African and Nicaraguan. Written in a clear, readable style, it is the essential reference for students and scholars working in sign language studies and deaf studies. |
Sommario
1 | |
Part I History and transmission | 17 |
2 Transmission of sign languages in Northern Europe | 19 |
3 Transmission of sign languages in Latin America | 46 |
4 Transmission of sign languages in the Nordic countries | 74 |
5 Transmission of sign languages in Mediterranean Europe | 95 |
6 Transmission of sign languages in Africa | 113 |
7 Transmission of Polish sign systems | 131 |
15 Grammaticalization in sign languages | 332 |
16 The semanticsphonology interface | 355 |
their grammatical and prosodic roles | 381 |
Part III Variation and change | 403 |
18 Sign languages in West Africa | 405 |
19 Sign languages in the Arab world | 433 |
20 Variation in American Sign Language | 451 |
21 Sociolinguistic variation in British Australian and New Zealand Sign Languages | 476 |
Part II Shared crosslinguistic characteristics | 149 |
8 Notation systems | 151 |
9 Verb agreement in sign language morphology | 173 |
10 Functional markers in sign languages | 197 |
11 Clause structure | 225 |
12 Factors that form classifier signs | 252 |
13 Handshape contrasts in sign language phonology | 284 |
14 Syllable structure in sign language phonology | 312 |
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