External phonological change

[Des Power]

>Hello all. Happy New Year!!

Youre right Adam (as usual :-). Those signs are lexical variants. I learnt
to sign  in Victorian "dialect"  and the signs for lazy and holiday were
both 5-hand  (plan down and tapped on the hip in the case of lazy). I didnt
know the Middle-finger ones till I moved to degenerate Queensland :-( Ive
never seen the middle-finger version of rocket; Ive always use the g-hand
for it. Ive certainly had discussions with Deaf people who had picked up
the Hearing vulgar use of the middle-finger gestrue and felt it wasnt
suitable for public discourse. :-) Be interesting to know if they still use
the middle-finger  vsersion in private.

Des

Pip,
>
>Thanks for this message - very interesting stuff!
>
>Let me clarify: I am interested in phonological change of the kind
>I've seen in BSL where the Middle Finger handshape has been
>systematically replaced in a small set of signs by the G handshape.
>The examples you mention represent lexical change. The lexical variant
>you mention for LAZY is not one I have seen widely used in the Sydney
>deaf community, although the sign HOLIDAY with a 5 handshape does
>co-exist in Sydney with the variant using a Middle Finger handshape.
>
>Nevertheless, you're right to point out that I ought not create the
>impression that Auslan is not influenced by similar social pressures.
>I have research data collected from 8 deaf native signers from
>Melbourne signing with a deaf native signer co-researcher, and the use
>of the Middle Finger handshape in the sign for ROCKET occurs in this
>context. I think, however, you've drawn my attention to something
>I've not been really been aware of - the tendency to avoid the use of
>signs using the Middle Finger handshape in public discourse. After I
>read your email, I checked with my partner (who has far more
>experience interpreting in the public domain in Sydney than I do),
>and he confirmed that he had avoided or been requested to avoid the
>use of Middle Finger handshape signs in certain contexts. So, you're
>definitely on to something there. Perhaps we ought to co-operate on
>some research when I'm back in Sydney in July!
>
>The interesting difference, however, is that these social pressures
>may be causing some degree of lexical change in Auslan, but appear to
>have led to some phonological change in BSL.
>
>Cheers,
>Adam
>
>----------------------
>Adam Schembri
>Centre for Deaf Studies
>University of Bristol
>8 Woodland Rd
>Bristol BS8 1TN
>United Kingdom
>Telephone: +44 (0)117 954 6909
>Textphone: +44 (0)117 954 6920
>Fax: +44 (0)117 954 6921
>Email: Adam.Schembri at bristol.ac.uk
>Website: www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/DeafStudies
>
>> I have done no formal research in this particular area, but have
>> observed an
>> increasing tendency over the last ten years for many Deaf people (at
>> least
>> in the Melbourne Deaf community) to avoid the use of those signs in
>> Auslan
>> .......  this process appears to be (as one would expect) at
>> different stages
>> with different signs, ranging from a complete shift to (as yet) no
>> apparent
>> shift.  HOLIDAY is usually signed with a 5 hs in all contexts, I have
>> rarely
>> seen it signed with middle finger hs . There are several signs with
>> meanings
>> closely related to SILLY, with the middle-finger extended sign having
>> semantically deteriorated so that it is now the most pejorative of
>> these and
>> is quite marked, no longer considered appropriate for all contexts.
>> STUBBORN
>> is hanging in there and is still signed with middle finger hs.  LAZY
>> has
>> almost been replaced by another sign (B hs contacting hip twice)
>> except when
>> communicating with Deaf-blind people who use tactile signing or have a
>> limited field of vision.  AVAILABLE seems to be gradually losing
>> currency,
>> and some interesting circumlocutions can be observed, particularly in
>> discourse produced "in public".  Many Deaf people express a
>> preference for
>> interpreters also to avoid use of these signs in public.
>>
>> pip
>>


Emeritus Professor Des Power