Continuous vs. Repetitive inflection in ASL

[Linda Lee Lonning]

On Fri, 7 May 1999 JMoore7829 at aol.com wrote:

> I'm curious as to whether the semantics of to-kill have any influence here.
> That is, it seems that to-kill is a finite act.  I can continue to stare
> (LOOK-AT continuative) over a period of time, but once I kill (only insects,
> mind you), it's over.  Therefore, it would seem to me that any use of kill
> would be repetitive rather than continuative, as continuative would indicate
> continuing to kill the same entity over a period of time, which can't be done.
> Thanks,
> Julie Moore
>
Hello again...

Makes me think here...can't we also inflect certain verbs which have that
seeminly discrete temporal aspect inherent in them like DIE to show that
the process was not instantaneous?  Like I could produce the movement
involved with the sign DIE more slowly (to indicate a "slow death"), or
maybe even go half way in
producing the palm-turning movement associated with this DIE sign (granted
with a bit of before and after explanation to make the point of that
inflection more clear) to indicate perhaps that a person "almost died"?

Just throwing in more stuff for us all to consider...

Linda Lonning, BS, CT, WITA I2 T1
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN--MILWAUKEE Part-time Staff
Community Interpreter