Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
Published on: January 26, 2024
Nouns and verbs in Australian sign language: an open and shut case?
1Renwick College, Faculty of Education, University of Newcastle, Private Bag 29, Parramatta NSW 2124, Australia (e-mail: rctaj@alinga.newcastle.edu.au
Abstract:
Results of the noun-verb pair comprehension and production tests from the Test Battery for Auslan Morphology and Syntax (Schembri et al., 2000) are re-presented, re-analyzed, and compared to data from two other cases also dealing with noun-verb pairs: the Auslan lexical database and a comparison of Auslan and American Sign Language (ASL) signs. The data elicited through the test battery and presented in this article confirm the existence of formationally related noun-verb pairs in Auslan in which the verb displays a single movement and the noun displays a repeated movement. The data also suggest that the best exemplars of noun-verb pairs of this type in Auslan form a distinct set of iconic (mimetic) signs archetypically based on inherently reversible actions (such as opening and shutting). This strong iconic link perhaps explains why the derivational process appears to be of limited productivity, though it does appear to have "spread" to a number of signs that appear to have no such iconicity. There appears to be considerable variability in the use of the derivational markings, particularly in connected discourse, even for signs of the "open and shut" variety. Overall, the derivational process is apparently still closely linked to an iconic base, is incipient in the grammar of Auslan, and is thus best described as only partially grammaticalized.
More Related Videos
09:27Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language
Published on: October 13, 2018
07:36Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
Published on: November 30, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Sign Convention
The normal force acts perpendicular to the beam's cross-section and can cause...
Sign Test for Nominal Data
For example, consider a...
Introduction to the Sign Test
Sign Test for Matched Pairs
To conduct the sign test, we first calculate the differences in value between...
Sympathetic Signaling
Sympathetic preganglionic fibers release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) onto the ganglionic neurons in the...
Non-Verbal Cues