Sociolinguistic Variation in Hong Kong Sign Language
Sociolinguistic Variation in Hong Kong Sign Language by Wai Yan Rebecca Siu A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics Victoria University of Wellington 2016 Abstract Internal lexical variation appears to be a prominent feature within signed languages; it is perhaps a result of their distinctive acquisition patterns and fragile transmission. Recent research in different signed languages indicates that sociolinguistic variation within signed languages parallels some patterns found in spoken languages, though with some factors dis- tinct to the former. This research examines sociolinguistic variation in a regional sign language, Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL), “spoken” by deaf people in Hong Kong. The focus of this dissertation is lexical vari- ation and two phonological variations in the signs DEAF/HEARING, and ‘location drop’ in articulation of signs made at the forehead. This research project is a modified replication of the earlier studies in American Sign Language, Australian Sign Language, and New Zealand Sign Language (Lucas, Bayley, & Valli, 2001; Schembri, McKee, McKee, Pi- vac, Johnston, & Goswell, 2009; McKee & McKee, 2011). The data of 65 participants recruited from the researcher’s networks in the HKSL com- munity using the friend-of-a-friend method was analyzed. Three types of data were collected: free conversation, picture naming and interview. A set of 120 pictures (with/without Chinese characters) was used to elicit signs for the concepts represented. Fifty-one out of these 120 concepts were analyzed from the semantic domains of colour, kinship, number, ii and country/region.
[Show full text]