Phonology of numerals

[Ulrike Zeshan]

>So do other sign languages use different formational features and
>constraints for numerals? Can someone point me in the direction of
>any published discussion of this issue (I seem to recall some
>discussion of this on SLLING-L some time ago)?

Special hand configurations for numbers (and also fingerspelled letters and
representations of written characters like Chinese Kanji) seem to be quite
common. Indo-Pakistani Sign Language has a number of handshapes that occur
only in fngerspelled letters. In the Karachi dialect, several number signs
also have handshapes that occur no-where else; these resemble the written
numbers. Data in Zeshan (2000): 'Sign Language in Indo-Pakistan.' John
Benjamins. The curious form for the  number '8' in IPSL is found in a very
similar, but not identical, form in Ugandan Sign Language (this was
mentioned on this list some time ago, maybe this is what you meant by
numbers having been discussed). I think numbers are prone to being
'borrowed' into a sign language from either written forms or forms of
'counting on the hands' used in the surrounding hearing culture, which is
why they may be somewhat outside the usual phonological system. The same
applies to letters and other forms of writing. See Jean Ann's very
interesting 'Contact between a Sign Language and a Written Language:
´Character Signs in Taiwan Sign Language.' in Lucas, ed. (1998): Pinky
Extension & Eye Gaze: Language Use in Deaf Communities. Gallaudet Univ. Press.

And an aside on the Dominance Constraint: What counts as an unmarked
handshape is not universal. In IPSL, the set of unmarked handshapes is A/S,
B/B', G/L, flatO and 5. Thumb position is not distinctive. Both C and O are
rare in the language.

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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