Adverbial Morphemes in Tactile ASL - Gallaudet University

PDE – Steven D. Collins
Findings and Interpretations
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4.2. Overall Patterns across the various adverbial types
The data in Section 4.1 shows examples from each of the adverb types considered. In
each of the adverbial types, Tactile ASL has a characteristic pattern of variation differentiating it
from the visual ASL signing pattern. In summary, the findings are as follows:
Adverbial
Feature:
Prolonged
Hold
Specific
or Extra
Sign
Tenseness
of the
Hand
Extended
Location
Longer and
Slower
Movement
Redundancy
Manner/Degree √ √ √ √ √
Time
√
Duration √ √ √ √
Frequency √ √ √ √
Purpose √ √
Place/Position/
Direction
√
√
Table 1 - Summary of Findings
In the table above (√) indicates that the feature is sometimes found in an adverbial of the
indicated type. Whereas, this same feature is generally not present in visual ASL. The features
observed, as shown in the table are:
1. Prolonged Hold. The signer will introduce a final hold segment into the sign in order to
provide clarity.
2. Specific or Extra Sign. The signer will introduce an extra sign that substitutes for the
unobserved non-manual signal.
3. Tenseness of the Hand. The signer will tense the muscles in his/her hand in a way that
can be felt by the other person.
4. Extended Location. The signer will expand the size of the signing space in order to
provide the other person with an opportunity to understand the sign.
5. Longer and Slower Movement. The signer will slow-down the production of the sign
thus spreading it out over a longer time.
6. Redundancy. This means the signer will repeat information that would otherwise be
unnecessary.
67