fbpx
Wikipedia

Nonmanual feature

January 30, 2023

A nonmanual feature, also sometimes called nonmanual signal or sign language expression, are the features of signed languages that do not use the hands. Nonmanual features are gramaticised and a necessary component in many signs, in the same way that manual features are. Nonmanual features serve a similar function to intonation in spoken languages.[1]

ASL sign for "angry" - note the furrowed eyebrows

Purpose

Nonmanual features in signed languages do not function the same way that general body language and facial expressions do in spoken ones. In spoken languages, they can give extra information but are not necessary for the receiver to understand the meaning of the utterance (for example, an autistic person may not use any facial expressions but still get their meaning across clearly, and people with visual impairements may understand spoken utterances without the need for visual aides). Conversely, nonmanual features are needed to understand the full meaning of many signs, and they can drastically change the meaning of individual signs. For example, in ASL the signs HERE and NOT HERE have the same manual sign, and are distinguished only by nonmanual features.[2]

Nonmanual features also do not function the same way as gestures (which exist in both spoken and signed languages), as nonmanual features are grammaticised.[3] For this reason, nonmanual features need to be included in signwriting systems.

Form

In sign languages, the hands do the majority of the work, forming phonemes and giving denotational meaning. Extra meaning however is created through the use of nonmanual features. Despite the literal meaning of manual, not all signs that use other body parts are called as nonmanual features of the language, and it generally refers to information expressed in the upper half of the body such as the head, eyebrows, eyes, cheeks, and mouth in various postures or movements.[4]

Nonmanual features have two main aspects - place and setting. These are the nonmanual equivalents to HOLM (handshape, orientation, location, and movement) in manual sign components. Place refers to the part of the body used, while setting refers to the state it is in.[5] For example, the Auslan sign for WHY has nonmanual features necessary to distinguish it from the sign BECAUSE. One of these nonmanual features can be describes as having the place of [eyebrows] and the setting of [furrowed].[6]

Although it is done using the face, mouthing is not always considered a nonmanual feature, as it is not a natural feature of signed languages, being taken from the local spoken language/s.[5] Because of this, there is debate as to whether mouthing is a sign language feature or a form of codeswitching.[7]

Types

Lexical

Many lexical signs use nonmanual features in addition to the manual articulation. For instance, facial expressions may accompany verbs of emotion, as in the sign for angry in Czech Sign Language.

Non-manual elements can be lexically contrastive. An example is the ASL sign for NOT YET, which requires that the tongue touch the lower lip and that the head rotate from side to side, in addition to the manual part of the sign. Without these features the sign would be interpreted as LATE.[8] Mouthings can also be contrastive, as in the manually identical signs for DOCTOR and BATTERY in Sign Language of the Netherlands.[9]

In some languages, there are a small amount of words that are formed entirely by nonmanual features. For example, in Polish Sign Language, there is a sign used to express that the user wishes to self-correct or rephrase an utterance, perhaps best translated as I MEAN. The sign is made by closing the eyes and shaking the head.[5] Because it does not use the hands, this sign has the benefit of being able to be used simultaneously as the user is rephrasing their statement.

Intensifiers can be expressed through nonmanual features, as the have the benefit of being expressed at the same time as manual signs. In Auslan, puffed cheeks can be used simultaneously with the manual sign LARGE to make a sign better translated as GIGANTIC.

Nonmanual features are also a part of many sign names.[2]

Phrasal

Many grammatical functions are produced non-manually,[10] including interrogation, negation, relative clauses and topicalization, and conditional clauses.[11] ASL and BSL use similar non-manual marking for yes-no questions - they are shown through raised eyebrows and a forward head tilt.[12][1] which functions similarly to English's pitch raise in these questions.[1]

Nonmanual features are frequently used to grammatically signify role shift, which is when the signer switches between two or more individuals they are quoting.[13] This can be done through For example, in German Sign Language the This can be done by the signer using signing space to tie quoted speech to pronouns, such as in German Sign Language.[14] It can also be expressed by gaze-shifting or head-shifting.[15]

Adjective phrases can be formed using nonmanual features. For instance, in ASL a slightly open mouth with the tongue relaxed and visible in the corner of the mouth means 'carelessly', but a similar non-manual in BSL means 'boring' or 'unpleasant'.[16]

Discourse

Discourse functions such as turn taking are largely regulated through head movement and eye gaze. Since the addressee in a signed conversation must be watching the signer, a signer can avoid letting the other person have a turn by not looking at them, or can indicate that the other person may have a turn by making eye contact.[17]

Recognition in academia

In early studies of signed languages done by hearing researchers, nonmanual features were largely ignored.[18] In the 1960s, William Stokoe established a system of sign language phonology for American Sign Language and was one of the first researchers to discuss nonmanual features in his writings when he used diacritics in his writings to signifiy six different facial expressions based on their meanings in English.[19]

From Stokoe's writings until the 1990s, facial expressions were discussed in some studies on signed languages, and awareness of them as a grammaticised aspect of signed languages began to grow.[3] In the 21st century, discussion of nonmanual signs in both research on individual languages and sign language education has become more common, partially due to the increased awareness of minimal pairs in automatic sign language recognition technology.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c Rudge, Luke A. (2018-08-03). "Analysing British sign language through the lens of systemic functional linguistics". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b Aran, Oya; Burger, Thomas; Caplier, Alice; Akarun, Lale (2008). "A belief-based sequential fusion approach for fusing manual and non-manual signs". www.semanticscholar.org. S2CID 2971052. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  3. ^ a b Reilly, Judy Snitzer; Mcintire, Marina; Bellugi, Ursula (1990). "The acquisition of conditionals in American Sign Language: Grammaticized facial expressions". Applied Psycholinguistics. 11 (4): 369–392. doi:10.1017/S0142716400009632. ISSN 1469-1817. S2CID 146327328.
  4. ^ Herrmann, Annika (2013), "Nonmanuals in sign languages", Modal and Focus Particles in Sign Languages, A Cross-Linguistic Study (1 ed.), De Gruyter, pp. 33–52, JSTOR j.ctvbkk221.10, retrieved 2022-04-02
  5. ^ a b c Tomaszewski, Piotr (2010-01-01), Not by the hands alone: Functions of non-manual features in Polish Sign Language, pp. 289–320, ISBN 978-83-932212-0-2, retrieved 2022-04-04
  6. ^ "Signbank". auslan.org.au. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  7. ^ Bogliotti, Caroline; Isel, Frederic (2021). "Manual and Spoken Cues in French Sign Language's Lexical Access: Evidence From Mouthing in a Sign-Picture Priming Paradigm". Frontiers in Psychology. 12: 655168. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.655168. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 8185165. PMID 34113290.
  8. ^ Liddell, Scott K. (2003). Grammar, Gesture, and Meaning in American Sign Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  9. ^ Josep Quer i Carbonell; Carlo Cecchetto; Rannveig Sverrisd Ãttir, eds. (2017). SignGram blueprint: A guide to sign language grammar writing. De Gruyter Mouton. ISBN 9781501511806. OCLC 1012688117.
  10. ^ Bross, Fabian; Hole, Daniel. "Scope-taking strategies in German Sign Language". Glossa. 2 (1): 1–30. doi:10.5334/gjgl.106.
  11. ^ Boudreault, Patrick; Mayberry, Rachel I. (2006). "Grammatical processing in American Sign Language: Age of first-language acquisition effects in relation to syntactic structure". Language and Cognitive Processes. 21 (5): 608–635. doi:10.1080/01690960500139363. S2CID 13572435.
  12. ^ Baker, Charlotte, and Dennis Cokely (1980). American Sign Language: A teacher's resource text on grammar and culture. Silver Spring, MD: T.J. Publishers.
  13. ^ Quer, Josep (2018-10-01). "On categorizing types of role shift in Sign languages". Theoretical Linguistics. 44 (3–4): 277–282. doi:10.1515/tl-2018-0020. hdl:10230/36020. ISSN 1613-4060. S2CID 69448938.
  14. ^ Buchstaller, Isabelle; Alphen, Ingrid van (2012-05-01). Quotatives: Cross-linguistic and cross-disciplinary perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 978-90-272-7479-3.
  15. ^ "How to use role shifting in American Sign Language". www.handspeak.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  16. ^ Sutton-Spence, Rachel, and Bencie Woll (1998). The linguistics of British Sign Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  17. ^ Baker, Charlotte (1977). Regulators and turn-taking in American Sign Language discourse, in Lynn Friedman, On the other hand: New perspectives on American Sign Language. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 9780122678509
  18. ^ Filhol, Michael; Choisier, Annick; Hadjadj, Mohamed (1982-05-31). "Non-manual features: the right to indifference". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ^ Stokoe, William C. Jr. (2005-01-01). "Sign Language Structure: An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf". The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 10 (1): 3–37. doi:10.1093/deafed/eni001. ISSN 1081-4159. PMID 15585746.
  20. ^ Mukushev, Medet; Sabyrov, Arman; Imashev, Alfarabi; Koishybay, Kenessary; Kimmelman, Vadim; Sandygulova, Anara (2020). "Evaluation of Manual and Non-manual Components for Sign Language Recognition". Proceedings of the 12th Language Resources and Evaluation Conference. Marseille, France: European Language Resources Association: 6073–6078. ISBN 979-10-95546-34-4.

January 30, 2023
nonmanual, feature, nonmanual, feature, also, sometimes, called, nonmanual, signal, sign, language, expression, features, signed, languages, that, hands, gramaticised, necessary, component, many, signs, same, that, manual, features, serve, similar, function, i. A nonmanual feature also sometimes called nonmanual signal or sign language expression are the features of signed languages that do not use the hands Nonmanual features are gramaticised and a necessary component in many signs in the same way that manual features are Nonmanual features serve a similar function to intonation in spoken languages 1 ASL sign for angry note the furrowed eyebrows Contents 1 Purpose 2 Form 3 Types 3 1 Lexical 3 2 Phrasal 3 3 Discourse 4 Recognition in academia 5 ReferencesPurpose EditNonmanual features in signed languages do not function the same way that general body language and facial expressions do in spoken ones In spoken languages they can give extra information but are not necessary for the receiver to understand the meaning of the utterance for example an autistic person may not use any facial expressions but still get their meaning across clearly and people with visual impairements may understand spoken utterances without the need for visual aides Conversely nonmanual features are needed to understand the full meaning of many signs and they can drastically change the meaning of individual signs For example in ASL the signs HERE and NOT HERE have the same manual sign and are distinguished only by nonmanual features 2 Nonmanual features also do not function the same way as gestures which exist in both spoken and signed languages as nonmanual features are grammaticised 3 For this reason nonmanual features need to be included in signwriting systems Form EditIn sign languages the hands do the majority of the work forming phonemes and giving denotational meaning Extra meaning however is created through the use of nonmanual features Despite the literal meaning of manual not all signs that use other body parts are called as nonmanual features of the language and it generally refers to information expressed in the upper half of the body such as the head eyebrows eyes cheeks and mouth in various postures or movements 4 Nonmanual features have two main aspects place and setting These are the nonmanual equivalents to HOLM handshape orientation location and movement in manual sign components Place refers to the part of the body used while setting refers to the state it is in 5 For example the Auslan sign for WHY has nonmanual features necessary to distinguish it from the sign BECAUSE One of these nonmanual features can be describes as having the place of eyebrows and the setting of furrowed 6 Although it is done using the face mouthing is not always considered a nonmanual feature as it is not a natural feature of signed languages being taken from the local spoken language s 5 Because of this there is debate as to whether mouthing is a sign language feature or a form of codeswitching 7 Types EditLexical Edit Many lexical signs use nonmanual features in addition to the manual articulation For instance facial expressions may accompany verbs of emotion as in the sign for angry in Czech Sign Language Non manual elements can be lexically contrastive An example is the ASL sign for NOT YET which requires that the tongue touch the lower lip and that the head rotate from side to side in addition to the manual part of the sign Without these features the sign would be interpreted as LATE 8 Mouthings can also be contrastive as in the manually identical signs for DOCTOR and BATTERY in Sign Language of the Netherlands 9 In some languages there are a small amount of words that are formed entirely by nonmanual features For example in Polish Sign Language there is a sign used to express that the user wishes to self correct or rephrase an utterance perhaps best translated as I MEAN The sign is made by closing the eyes and shaking the head 5 Because it does not use the hands this sign has the benefit of being able to be used simultaneously as the user is rephrasing their statement Intensifiers can be expressed through nonmanual features as the have the benefit of being expressed at the same time as manual signs In Auslan puffed cheeks can be used simultaneously with the manual sign LARGE to make a sign better translated as GIGANTIC Nonmanual features are also a part of many sign names 2 Phrasal Edit Many grammatical functions are produced non manually 10 including interrogation negation relative clauses and topicalization and conditional clauses 11 ASL and BSL use similar non manual marking for yes no questions they are shown through raised eyebrows and a forward head tilt 12 1 which functions similarly to English s pitch raise in these questions 1 Nonmanual features are frequently used to grammatically signify role shift which is when the signer switches between two or more individuals they are quoting 13 This can be done through For example in German Sign Language the This can be done by the signer using signing space to tie quoted speech to pronouns such as in German Sign Language 14 It can also be expressed by gaze shifting or head shifting 15 Adjective phrases can be formed using nonmanual features For instance in ASL a slightly open mouth with the tongue relaxed and visible in the corner of the mouth means carelessly but a similar non manual in BSL means boring or unpleasant 16 Discourse Edit Discourse functions such as turn taking are largely regulated through head movement and eye gaze Since the addressee in a signed conversation must be watching the signer a signer can avoid letting the other person have a turn by not looking at them or can indicate that the other person may have a turn by making eye contact 17 Recognition in academia EditIn early studies of signed languages done by hearing researchers nonmanual features were largely ignored 18 In the 1960s William Stokoe established a system of sign language phonology for American Sign Language and was one of the first researchers to discuss nonmanual features in his writings when he used diacritics in his writings to signifiy six different facial expressions based on their meanings in English 19 From Stokoe s writings until the 1990s facial expressions were discussed in some studies on signed languages and awareness of them as a grammaticised aspect of signed languages began to grow 3 In the 21st century discussion of nonmanual signs in both research on individual languages and sign language education has become more common partially due to the increased awareness of minimal pairs in automatic sign language recognition technology 20 References Edit a b c Rudge Luke A 2018 08 03 Analysing British sign language through the lens of systemic functional linguistics a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b Aran Oya Burger Thomas Caplier Alice Akarun Lale 2008 A belief based sequential fusion approach for fusing manual and non manual signs www semanticscholar org S2CID 2971052 Retrieved 2022 04 04 a b Reilly Judy Snitzer Mcintire Marina Bellugi Ursula 1990 The acquisition of conditionals in American Sign Language Grammaticized facial expressions Applied Psycholinguistics 11 4 369 392 doi 10 1017 S0142716400009632 ISSN 1469 1817 S2CID 146327328 Herrmann Annika 2013 Nonmanuals in sign languages Modal and Focus Particles in Sign Languages A Cross Linguistic Study 1 ed De Gruyter pp 33 52 JSTOR j ctvbkk221 10 retrieved 2022 04 02 a b c Tomaszewski Piotr 2010 01 01 Not by the hands alone Functions of non manual features in Polish Sign Language pp 289 320 ISBN 978 83 932212 0 2 retrieved 2022 04 04 Signbank auslan org au Retrieved 2022 04 02 Bogliotti Caroline Isel Frederic 2021 Manual and Spoken Cues in French Sign Language s Lexical Access Evidence From Mouthing in a Sign Picture Priming Paradigm Frontiers in Psychology 12 655168 doi 10 3389 fpsyg 2021 655168 ISSN 1664 1078 PMC 8185165 PMID 34113290 Liddell Scott K 2003 Grammar Gesture and Meaning in American Sign Language Cambridge Cambridge University Press Josep Quer i Carbonell Carlo Cecchetto Rannveig Sverrisd Attir eds 2017 SignGram blueprint A guide to sign language grammar writing De Gruyter Mouton ISBN 9781501511806 OCLC 1012688117 Bross Fabian Hole Daniel Scope taking strategies in German Sign Language Glossa 2 1 1 30 doi 10 5334 gjgl 106 Boudreault Patrick Mayberry Rachel I 2006 Grammatical processing in American Sign Language Age of first language acquisition effects in relation to syntactic structure Language and Cognitive Processes 21 5 608 635 doi 10 1080 01690960500139363 S2CID 13572435 Baker Charlotte and Dennis Cokely 1980 American Sign Language A teacher s resource text on grammar and culture Silver Spring MD T J Publishers Quer Josep 2018 10 01 On categorizing types of role shift in Sign languages Theoretical Linguistics 44 3 4 277 282 doi 10 1515 tl 2018 0020 hdl 10230 36020 ISSN 1613 4060 S2CID 69448938 Buchstaller Isabelle Alphen Ingrid van 2012 05 01 Quotatives Cross linguistic and cross disciplinary perspectives John Benjamins Publishing ISBN 978 90 272 7479 3 How to use role shifting in American Sign Language www handspeak com Retrieved 2022 04 14 Sutton Spence Rachel and Bencie Woll 1998 The linguistics of British Sign Language Cambridge Cambridge University Press Baker Charlotte 1977 Regulators and turn taking in American Sign Language discourse in Lynn Friedman On the other hand New perspectives on American Sign Language New York Academic Press ISBN 9780122678509 Filhol Michael Choisier Annick Hadjadj Mohamed 1982 05 31 Non manual features the right to indifference a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Stokoe William C Jr 2005 01 01 Sign Language Structure An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 10 1 3 37 doi 10 1093 deafed eni001 ISSN 1081 4159 PMID 15585746 Mukushev Medet Sabyrov Arman Imashev Alfarabi Koishybay Kenessary Kimmelman Vadim Sandygulova Anara 2020 Evaluation of Manual and Non manual Components for Sign Language Recognition Proceedings of the 12th Language Resources and Evaluation Conference Marseille France European Language Resources Association 6073 6078 ISBN 979 10 95546 34 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nonmanual feature amp oldid 1136278230, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.