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Article published In: Gesture
Vol. 17:3 (2018) ► pp.330–374

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Negation in San Juan Quiahije Chatino Sign Language

The integration and adaptation of conventional gestures

 | Lund University
 | University of California, Santa Barbara
Published online: 18 February 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.18017.mes
Abstract
Sign languages do not arise from thin air: rather, they emerge in communities where conventions are already in place for using gesture. Little research has considered how these conventions are retained and/or adapted as gestures are integrated into emerging sign language lexicons. Here we describe a set of five gestures that are used to convey negative meanings by both speakers and signers in a single community: the San Juan Quiahije municipality in Oaxaca, Mexico. We show that all of the form-meaning mappings present for non-signers are retained by signers as they integrate the gestures into their lexicon. Interestingly, additional meanings are mapped to the gesture forms by signers – a phenomenon that appears to originate with deaf signers in particular. In light of this evidence, we argue that accounts of ‘wholesale borrowing’ of gestures into emerging sign languages is overly simplistic: signers evidently adapt gestures as they integrate them into their emerging lexicons.
Resumen
Las lenguas de señas no surgen de la nada, si no que surgen en comunidades donde ya existen convenciones para el uso de los gestos. Hay pocos trabajos de investigación que consideren cómo se retienen y / o adaptan estas convenciones cuando los gestos se integran en lenguas de señas. En este trabajo describimos un conjunto de cinco gestos con significados negativos, usados por hablantes y por señantes del municipio de San Juan Quiahije en Oaxaca, México. Demostramos cómo todos los significados presentes para los hablantes son retenidos por los señantes. Además, los señantes asignan significados adicionales a los gestos, un fenómeno que parece originarse en particular con los señantes sordos. A la luz de esta evidencia, sugerimos que las descripciones de “préstamos” de gestos en lenguas de señas emergentes son demasiado simplistas: los señantes evidentemente adaptan los gestos a medida que los integran en sus léxicos emergentes.
GyaqC
NdeC ngaJ skaA jnyaF noA ntsaB qwanE niyanB nlyaqI oE tnenB yaqC sntenB noA ngaJ skaA chaqF noA jaA ngaE kchinA kiqyaC, skaA kchinA jnyaE inA loA ntqaB, xyaqA. NoA jloA laE tiB qinH ntsaB waG qwanE niyanB nlyaqI renqA oE skaA chaqF noA jaA ngaE, qanK noA ndywiqI renqA noA ngaJ chaqF jnyaJ inB kchinA kiqyaC. TiH loJ laE ndywiqI waG chaqF inA ntenB noA jaA laI naJ oE jaA laI ntykaJ tykwiqI qwiA kchinA reC noA nlyaqA yaqC oE niyaK qinK chaqF kaC tykwiqE oE skaA taA ntenB. KwiqJ kwanH niyaJ ntquB waG chaqF ntenB noA jaA laI naB oE jaA laI ndywiqI, nlyaqA ndiyaa kaB chaqF noA jaA ngaJ noA yeG laE nlyaqA oE ndywiqA renqA kchinA kiqyaC reC.KwiqJ kwanH niyaJ ntquB waG chaqF ndiyaI chaqF ndiyaB riC noA ngaJ chaqF noA jaA ngaE janG tykwiqA, waC xqanE laE ntenB noA jaA naE oE jaA laI ntykaB tykwiqI janG qinA ranF.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • The San Juan Quiahije municipality as a communicative ecology
    • Some terminological clarifications
    • Stability and change of conventional gestures in an emerging sign language
  • Negative conventional gestures in the SJQ communicative ecology
    • Identifying conventional gestures
    • Negative conventional gestures and their uses
      • WAG
      • TWIST
      • PALM-DOWN
      • PALM-UP
      • DEAD
    • Research questions
  • Methods
  • Form-meaning mappings for negative conventional gestures in SJQCSL
    • Quantitative overview
    • WAG
      • WAG in emerging sign languages: Precedents for integration
      • WAG use by deaf SJQCSL signers
      • WAG use by hearing SJQCSL signers
      • WAG: Interim summary and discussion
    • TWIST
      • TWIST in emerging sign languages: Precedents for integration
      • Use of TWIST by deaf signers
      • Usage of TWIST by hearing signers
      • TWIST: Interim summary and discussion
    • PALM-DOWN
      • PALM-DOWN in emerging sign languages: Precedents for integration
      • PALM-DOWN use by deaf signers
      • PALM-DOWN use by hearing signers
      • PALM-DOWN: Interim summary and discussion
    • PALM-UP
      • PALM-UP in emerging sign languages: Precedents for integration
      • PALM-UP use by deaf signers
      • PALM-UP use by hearing signers
      • PALM-UP: Interim summary and discussion
    • DEAD
      • DEAD in emerging sign languages: Precedents for integration
      • DEAD use by deaf signers
      • DEAD by hearing signers
      • DEAD: Interim summary and discussion
  • Discussion: Form-meaning mappings for negative conventional gestures in SJQCSL
  • Syntactic distribution of negative conventional gestures in SJQCSL
    • Introduction
    • Single- and multi-sign negative utterances
    • The emergence of conventions for predicate-negative gesture ordering
    • Discussion: Syntactic realization of negative conventional gestures in SJQCSL
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Author contribution statement
  • Notes
  • References
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