Locative Functions of Simultaneous Perspective Constructions in German Sign Language Narratives

Spatial language facilitates spatial cognition: Evidence from children who lack language input

“…As noted earlier in this section, conventional sign languages typically convey spatial relations by producing a sign for the ground in space and then producing a sign for the figure in relation to that space; the two signs can either be produced simultaneously (which results in a two-handed sign) or sequentially. This pattern has been found in all established sign languages studied to date: ASL (Emmorey, 1996, 2002b; Supalla, 2003), British Sign Language (Morgan & Woll, 2007), Danish Sign Language (Engberg-Pedersen, 1993), German Sign Language (Perniss et al, 2007), Quebec Sign Language (Miller, 1994), Hong Kong Sign Language (Tang, Sze & Lam, 2007). …”

“…The second, preferred, way to convey spatial relations is to use complex classifier predicates. In these predicates, one hand represents the figure and the other the ground, and the simultaneously produced positions and movements of the hands encode the relation between the two (Perniss, Vermeerbergen, Leeson & Crasborn, 2007; Emmorey, 1996, 2002b; Supalla, 1982, 2003; Engberg-Pedersen, 1993). In a classifier predicate construction, the hand representing the ground is typically first located in space, and the hand representing the figure is then placed in relation to the hand representing the ground.…”

The emergence of temporal language in Nicaraguan Sign Language

“…The use of simultaneous constructions to convey temporal information has been observed in a number of other sign languages, including ASL, British Sign Language, Danish Sign Language, Irish Sign Language, and Quebec Sign Language (Emmorey, 2002; Engberg-Pedersen, 1993, 1994; Leeson & Saeed, 2002; Liddell, 2003; Miller, 1994; Morgan, 2002; Rathmann, 2005). Simultaneous constructions may prove to be a sign language universal, taking advantage of the capacity for simultaneity in the manual modality, in contrast to the strict linearization required by vocal production (e.g., Emmorey, 1995; Padden, 1988; Perniss, 2007). While there is little developmental data on native signing children's acquisition of simultaneous constructions, this particular device appears to require considerable linguistic skill, since the signer must represent two referents or two events, one with each hand, and encode their locative or temporal relation to each other.…”

“…Simultaneous constructions can reflect either perceptual structure or discourse structure. When used to reflect perceptual structure, simultaneous constructions convey information about the spatial or temporal relationship between referents or events (Perniss, 2007). In simultaneous constructions, the two hands typically represent two different events, or parts of an event.…”

“…The temporal relationship between the two hands as they move, simultaneously or sequentially, encodes the temporal relation between the events. The use of simultaneous constructions has been observed in multiple sign languages, including ASL, Danish Sign Language, German Sign Language, Irish Sign Language, and Quebec Sign Language (Engberg-Pedersen, 1993, 1994; Leeson & Saeed, 2002; Liddell, 2003; Miller, 1994; Perniss, 2007). …”