Sign Languages

This thematic and geographic overview examines more than forty sign languages from around the world.

Diane Brentari (Edited by)

9780521883702, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 May 2010

714 pages, 166 b/w illus. 32 tables
23.5 x 16.1 x 3.8 cm, 1.25 kg

'Diane Brentari has gathered an immense wealth of linguistic and anthropological information on signed languages around the world. It represents the most up-to-date knowledge we have in this important, growing field. Each chapter is well worth reading on its own, but altogether the work is a superb, insightful picture of the complexities of signed languages and the breadth of current signed language research.' Terry Janzen, University of Manitoba

What are the unique characteristics of sign languages that make them so fascinating? What have recent researchers discovered about them, and what do these findings tell us about human language more generally? This thematic and geographic overview examines more than forty sign languages from around the world. It begins by investigating how sign languages have survived and been transmitted for generations, and then goes on to analyse the common characteristics shared by most sign languages: for example, how the use of the visual system affects grammatical structures. The final section describes the phenomena of language variation and change. Drawing on a wide range of examples, the book explores sign languages both old and young, from British, Italian, Asian and American to Israeli, Al-Sayyid Bedouin, African and Nicaraguan. Written in a clear, readable style, it is the essential reference for students and scholars working in sign language studies and deaf studies.

1. Introduction Diane Brentari
Part I. History and Transmission: 2. Transmission of sign languages in northern Europe Penny Boyes Braem and Christian Rathmann
3. Transmission of sign languages in Latin America Claire Ramsey and David Quinto-Pozos
4. Transmission of sign languages in the Nordic countries Brita Bergman and Elisabeth Engberg Pedersen
5. Transmission of sign languages in Mediterranean Europe Josep Quer, Galini Sapountzaki and Laura Mazzoni
6. Transmission of sign languages in Africa Dorothy Lule and Lars Wallin
7. Transmission of Polish sign systems Piotr Wojda
Part II. Shared Crosslinguistic Characteristics: 8. Notation systems Harry van der Hulst and Rachel Channon
9. Verb agreement in sign language morphology Gaurav Mathur and Christian Rathmann
10. Functional markers in sign languages Sandro Zucchi, Carol Neidle, Carlo Geraci, Quinn Duffy and Carlo Cecchetto
11. Clause structure Ronice Müller de Quadros and Diane Lillo-Martin
12. Factors that form classifier signs Elisabeth Engberg-Pedersen
13. Handshape contrasts in sign language phonology Diane Brentari and Petra Eccarius
14. Syllable structure in sign language phonology Tommi Jantunen and Ritva Takkinen
15. Grammaticalization in sign languages Sherman Wilcox, Paolo Rossini and Elena Pizzuto
16. The semantics-phonology interface Ronnie Wilbur
17. Nonmanuals: their prosodic and grammatical roles Roland Pfau and Josep Quer
Part III. Variation and Change: 18. Sign language varieties in West Africa Victoria Nyst
19. Sign languages in the Arab world Kinda Al-Fityani and Carol Padden
20. Variation in American sign language Ceil Lucas and Robert Bayley
21. Sociolinguistic variation in British, Australian, and New Zealand sign language Adam Schembri, Kearsy Cormier, Trevor Johnston, David McKee, Rachel McKee and Bencie Woll
22. Variation in East Asian sign language structures Susan Fischer and Qunhu Gong
23. Crosslinguistic variation in prosodic cues Gladys Tang, Diane Brentari, Carolina González and Felix Sze
24. Deixis in an emerging sign language Marie Coppola and Anne Senghas
25. The grammar of space in two new sign languages Carol Padden, Irit Meir, Mark Aronoff and Wendy Sandler.

Subject Areas: Sign languages, Braille & other linguistic communication [CFZ]