The focus of this dissertation research is the structure of relative clauses in American Sign Language (ASL). Relative clauses are common examples of embedded structures in natural language and as such are important illustrations of the recursivity and complexity of human language grammar. Such structures in ASL were first described in the late 1970's. This early work identified a set of non-manual markers (facial expressions and head tilts) which were claimed to always co-occur with relative clause utterances. Since then however, there has been little further work done on these forms in ASL, and there is still debate within the field as to whether or not the structures originally identified as relative clauses might not be better described as conjoined sentences and thus not true relative clauses. Determining the actual form and distribution of relative clauses in ASL is therefore crucial to understanding the nature of both embedded and non-embedded structures in ASL. Consequently, the objectives of the study are to identify ASL utterances which qualify as clear examples of relative clauses, to determine exactly which signs or non-manual expressions are required in such utterances and under what conditions, and to use these discoveries to support an analysis of the syntactic structures involved. The research will also identify several additional subtypes of relative clauses not previously identified. Natural language data will be collected from native speakers of ASL in the areas of Rochester, NY and Washington, DC through one-on-one interviews designed to elicit relative clause structures in a variety of syntactic positions. These interviews will be recorded with high-definition video equipment to allow for the most accurate transcription of subtle but grammatically important non-manual markers.
This research will be an important contribution to the understanding of sign language syntax. Like other minority languages, ASL has historically been incorrectly seen as inferior to English, in part because of the different modality. It is frequently the case that important grammatical markers in ASL, such as those indicative of relative clauses, are articulated on the face rather than the hands. A better understanding of the morphological structure of these non-manual grammatical markers has the potential to inform the teaching of ASL as a second language, and serve to improve the general perception of ASL as a rich and complex language.
This grant has supported dissertation research into the morphology and syntax of relative clauses in American Sign Language (ASL). While there has been an encouraging growth in theoretical research on ASL syntax in recent years (c.f. Neidle et al 2000; Liddell 2003; Sandler and Lillo-Martin 2006 among others), relative clauses are an area for which a closer look is not only timely but theoretically relevant. In the late nineteen-seventies, Scott K. Liddell described a class of ASL utterances which he identified as containing relative clauses. These clauses functioned as the modifier of a head noun which itself served as the argument of the matrix verb (1980:135). He also identified a set of non-manual gestures (i.e. facial expressions and head movements) that served to mark these relative clauses in ASL. Since Liddell’s work, surprisingly little additional work has been done on the syntax of relative clauses in ASL. What work there is seems mostly incidental to the analysis of other structures. Very little work has gone into investigating the most basic questions of relative clause syntax and typology. What are the possible structures of ASL relative clauses? Are they internally headed? Are they externally headed? Or are other structures, such as correlatives, attested? In order to collect data which more comprehensively illustrates the structural components and grammatical requirements of ASL relative clauses, extensive fieldwork has been conducted in the areas around Washington, DC and Hartford, CT--two US metropolitan areas with high populations of native signers. This fieldwork has yielded a database of over six hundred grammatical ASL sentences including relative clauses and nearly two hundred relative clause structures judged ungrammatical by informants. The number of tokens now collected far surpasses all previous research into relative clause construction in ASL in both number and diversity of token types. In order to properly populate the database, as well as make the data accessible for other researchers, novel enhancements to the existing coding system for non-manual signals in ASL related to relative clauses have had to be developed. Analysis of the data done so far unequivocally shows the existence of both internally and externally headed relative clauses in ASL. Furthermore, I have been able to develop clear syntactic diagnostics for each type, a crucial tool in advancing our understanding of the syntax of ASL relative clauses. Finally, the data from relative clauses is also providing additional support for the leftward movement hypothesis previously argued for by Lillo-Martin and Petronio. These results are clearly of interest to theoretical linguists, but they are also of interest to those with an interest in teaching ASL. Important grammatical markers in ASL—such as those indicative of relative clauses—are articulated on the face rather than the hands. A better understanding of the morphological structure of these non-manual grammatical markers has the potential to inform the teaching of ASL as a secondlanguage, and serve to improve the perception of ASL as a rich and complex language among those newly exposed to it. A successful analysis of these markers may even expand the notion of what constitutes a relative clause in ASL, and point the way to more successful teaching.
