The Effects of Linguistic Stress on ASL Signs

Target ASL signs were elicited in stressed and unstressed contexts for ten different types of sign movement. Previous reports that stressed signs tended to change the size and intensity of their movements were only partially confirmed. No single cue emerged as the primary indicator of stress. Qualitative analysis of the modifications revealed that there were some features commonly associated with stress which occurred across the ten movement categories. These included using non-manual behaviors (facial expression, body shifts), sharp beginning and/or end boundaries in the sign, producing signs physically higher in the signing space, and bracing or repetition of words and phrases. Signs normally made without linear path movement tended to add one, but other stressing cues, such as repetition and increasing signing speed, tended to be sporadic in utilization. The actual movement type in each of the ten categories appeared to be less important as a predictor of stress markings than whether the sign had path movement or not and whether the sign had one or two lexical movements.