Influence of predicate sense on word order in sign languages: Intensional and extensional verbs | Zendy

Donna Jo Napoli | Zendy; Rachel Sutton Spence | Zendy; Ronice Müller de Quadros | Zendy

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Influence of predicate sense on word order in sign languages: Intensional and extensional verbs

Author(s) -

Donna Jo Napoli,

Rachel Sutton Spence,

Ronice Müller de Quadros

Publication year - 2017

Publication title -

language

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.115

H-Index - 76

eISSN - 1535-0665

pISSN - 0097-8507

DOI - 10.1353/lan.2017.0039

Subject(s) - word order , linguistics , predicate (mathematical logic) , verb , modality (human–computer interaction) , sign language , gesture , sign (mathematics) , object (grammar) , salient , computer science , psychology , artificial intelligence , mathematics , philosophy , mathematical analysis , programming language

We present evidence for the influence of semantics on the order of subject, object, and verb in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) sentences. While some have argued for a prevailing pattern of SVO in Libras, we find a strong tendency for this order in sentences that do not presuppose the existence of the verb’s object, but not in sentences that do, which instead favor SOV. These findings are coherent with those of a recent study on gesture. We argue that the variable influence of the relevant predicates is particularly salient in sign languages, due to the iconic nature of the visual modality.

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