Have and BE verbs

[Ulrike Zeshan]

Ulrike Zeshan wrote:
> Have you noticed that positive and negative existentials are very often
> suppletive forms, that is, they look entirely different, like Turkish SL
> signs VAR (EXIST) and YOK (NOT-EXIST), Lebanese signs FI (EXIST) and
MA-FI
> (NOT-EXIST). They also overwhelmingly express possession <snip>

> I wonder how many of the signs usually transcribed HAVE should actually
be
> transcribed EXIST. The strong connection between existentials and
> possessives is common in spoken languaes as well.

Shelley Dufoe wrote:
Mexican Sign Language (LSM) has a possessive and an positive existential
whose formations are very similiar.  The positive existential HAY
(EXIST/THERE-IS) is formed like its Sign Language of Turkey counterpart
(5-hand, palm down, tip of thumb contacts chest 2-3 times).  The possessive
TENER (HAVE) is a 5-hand, palm up, outer edge of little fingertip contacts
chest 2-3 times.  In many instances (e.g. if the object is inanimate) they
can be used interchangably.  [Non-fluent signers also mix them up, but that
is a diffferent matter.  My examples and the following judgments are from a
Deaf of Deaf native LSM signer.]

Really interesting! The Turkish sign positive existential is slightly
different from this one, with the palm usually facing sideways rather than
down and contact along the side of the thumb.

I am trying to determine whether International Sign has a negative
existential. Would anyone out there happen to know? There are a couple of
articles about negation in International Sign, but nothing about negtive
existentials either in the articles or in the dictionary I have seen. How
is 'not exist' expressed in International Sign?
Thanks,

Ulrike


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Dr. Ulrike Zeshan
Research Centre for Linguistic Typology
Institute for Advanced Study
La Trobe University
Victoria 3086, Australia
ph. +61-3-94673084
fax +61-3-94673053
u.zeshan at latrobe.edu.au
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