Directional Verbs / signed vs. spoken languages

[Patricia Raswant]

OK, Susan, I stand corrected.  Yes, I agree that the modality of all
languages have the same function--to express and to communicate.  What
I have in mind is the delivery of a signed language and a spoken
language is divergent.  Rather, I usually look for the closest
equivalents in translations since most of the languages, IMHO, are
impossible to compare due to cultural differences and so forth.  For
me, how is it possible to compare an aural language to a visual
language?

Now, considering the directional verb in ASL, depending on how it is
expressed, it can be SVO or a combination of a action verb and a
preposition phrase.  It has an inflection when a continuing verb is
being used.  And I can argue that this is a unique structure and can't
be compared to a spoken language.  We should accept it for what it is.

On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 11:38 PM, S Walker <swalker29 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 27, 2009, at 11:24 PM, Patricia Raswant wrote:
>
>> ...I am sure that even you
>> agree that the functions of signed languages and spoken languages are
>> very different...
>
>
> A language is a language regardless of modality.  Therefore *ALL* languages
> have the exact same functions.  [I googled the "function of language" and
> got
> 110,000,000 pages if anyone wants to know what the "functions" of languages
> are.  Here are 6 that I found repeated in several locations:  "(1)
> referential
> ("The Earth is round"), (2) emotive ("Yuck!"), (3) conative ("Come here"),
> (4) phatic ("Hello?"), (5) metalingual ("What do you mean by 'krill'?"), and
> (6) poetic ("Smurf")."]
>
> - Susan [retired from teaching, not retired from linguistics]   :-)
> _______________________________________________
> SLLING-L mailing list
> SLLING-L at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> http://majordomo.valenciacc.edu/mailman/listinfo/slling-l
>
>

_______________________________________________
SLLING-L mailing list
SLLING-L at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
http://majordomo.valenciacc.edu/mailman/listinfo/slling-l