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Referential shift in Nicaraguan Sign Language: a transition from lexical to spatial devices
Annemarie Kocab1, Jennie Pyers2, Ann Senghas3
1Department of Psychology, Harvard University Cambridge, MA, USA ; Department of Psychology, Wellesley College Wellesley, MA, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 26, 2015
Summary
Spatial devices for referential shift marking in Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) emerged later than lexical devices. This suggests spatial grammar development in new sign languages requires foundational spatial conventions first.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental linguistics
- Sign language studies
Background:
- Narratives integrate multiple perspectives.
- Referential shift devices mark changes in perspective.
- Sign languages use deictic shifts and spatial marking for referential shifts.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine the emergence of referential shift devices in Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL).
- Investigate if spatial marking of referential shift appears early in a new sign language.
- Compare early and later cohorts of NSL signers.
Main Methods:
- Compared first and second age cohorts of NSL signers.
- Signers described video vignettes in NSL.
- Narratives were analyzed for lexical and spatial referential shift devices.
Main Results:
- Cohorts did not differ in the number of perspectives represented.
- Second-cohort signers used more explicit referential shift devices.
- Second-cohort signers used spatial devices more frequently than the first cohort.
Conclusions:
- Spatial devices for referential shift marking appear to be a more recent development in NSL.
- The emergence of spatial grammatical markers may depend on established spatial conventions.
- Sign language modality can utilize 3D space, but requires foundational spatial distinctions for grammatical functions.
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