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Article published In: Macro and micro-social variation in Asia-Pacific sign languages
Edited by Nick Palfreyman
[Asia-Pacific Language Variation 6:1] 2020
► pp. 53–88

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The effect of sociolinguistic factors on variation in the Kata Kolok lexicon

 | Vrije Universiteit Brussel
 | Radboud University | International Max Planck Research School, Nijmegen
 | Radboud University | Tilburg University
 | Radboud University
 | Radboud University
 | Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Published online: 29 July 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aplv.19009.mud
Abstract
Sign languages can be categorized as shared sign languages or deaf community sign languages, depending on the context in which they emerge. It has been suggested that shared sign languages exhibit more variation in the expression of everyday concepts than deaf community sign languages (Meir, Irit, Israel, Assaf, Sandler, Wendy, Padden, Carol A., & Aronoff, Mark (2012). The influence of community on language structure: Evidence from two young sign languages. Linguistic Variation, 12(2), 247–291. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). For deaf community sign languages, it has been shown that various sociolinguistic factors condition this variation. This study presents one of the first in-depth investigations of how sociolinguistic factors (deaf status, age, clan, gender and having a deaf family member) affect lexical variation in a shared sign language, using a picture description task in Kata Kolok. To study lexical variation in Kata Kolok, two methodologies are devised: the identification of signs by underlying iconic motivation and mapping, and a way to compare individual repertoires of signs by calculating the lexical distances between participants. Alongside presenting novel methodologies to study this type of sign language, we present preliminary evidence of sociolinguistic factors that may influence variation in the Kata Kolok lexicon.
Abstract (International Sign)
Abstract (Bahasa Indonesia)
Bahasa-bahasa isyarat dapat dikategorikan sebagai bahasa isyarat yang dipakai bersama atau bahasa isyarat komunitas tuli, bergantung kepada konteks kemunculannya. Pernah diusulkan bahwa bahasa isyarat yang dipakai bersama menampilkan lebih banyak variasi dalam ekspresinya konsep sehari-hari daripada bahasa isyarat komunitas tuli (Meir, Irit, Israel, Assaf, Sandler, Wendy, Padden, Carol A., & Aronoff, Mark (2012). The influence of community on language structure: Evidence from two young sign languages. Linguistic Variation, 12(2), 247–291. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Untuk bahasa isyarat komunitas tuli, pernah ditunjukkan bahwa berbagai factor sosiolinguistik mempengaruhi variasi tersebut. Makalah ini mempersembahkan salah satu studi mendalam yang pertama mengenai bagaimana factor sosiolinguistik (status ketulian, usia, dadya, kelamin dan mempunyai anggota keluarga yang tuli) mempengaruhi variasi leksikal dalam suatu bahasa isyarat yang dipakai bersama, melalui memakai tugas menggambarkan dalam Kata Kolok. Untuk mempertimbangkan variasi leksikal, kami kembangkan dua metodologi: mengidentifikasi isyarat melalui motivasi dan pemetaan ikonik yang mendasarinya, dan membandingkan repertoar isyarat yang digunakan oleh individual melalui menghitung jarak leksikal antara peserta. Selain ini, kami persembahkan bukti awal untuk factor sosiolinguistik yang mungkin mempengaruhi variasi dalam leksikon Kata Kolok.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Methodological issues
    • 1.2Kata Kolok and its lexicon
  • 2.Methodology
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Data collection
    • 2.3Data transcription
    • 2.4Data coding
    • 2.5Data analysis
  • 3.Results and interpretation
    • 3.1Quantifying lexical variation
    • 3.2Entropy – a measure of variation
    • 3.3Lexical distance
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Data and analysis files
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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