Exploring the effects of phrase-final lengthening in Italian Sign Language (LIS) noun phrases
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31513/linguistica.2020.v16n3a37495Keywords:
talian Sign Language, noun phrases, phrase-final lengthening, prosodic markers.Abstract
Phrase-final lengthening is a quite common prosodic phenomenon, previously accounted for in several spoken and signed languages. This study aims at investigating the prosodic cues produced in correspondence with the final boundary of noun phrases in Italian Sign Language (LIS), analyzing corpus data from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. The quantitative analysis confirms that noun phrases in LIS are affected by phrase-final lengthening (i.e. in noun phrases including one nominal modifier, on average, postnominal modifiers are longer than prenominal ones) and reveals that the various modifier classes show different degrees of sensitivity to this phenomenon. Building on these results, the qualitative analysis explores in detail those modifier classes that show lengthening effects in the corpus: the main consequences in the phonological makeup of signs are insertion of movement repetition, prolonged path movement, final hold accompanied by head nod, and weak prop. The study also offers possible explanations for the fact that quantifiers, ordinals, and determinerlike pointing signs are less sensitive to lengthening effects in the phrase-final boundary, suggesting that particular morphosyntactic factors may come into play.
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Original in English.
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