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Sign Language Studies 10; 01-94 Spr 1976

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Sign Language Studies 10; 01-94 Spr 1976 DOCUMEIT RESUME ED 127 789 FL 007 841 AUTHOR Woodward,*James C., Jr. TITLE Signs of Change: Historical Variation in American Sign Language. INSTITUTION Gallaudet Coll., Washington, D.C. SPO3S AGENCY National Endowment for the Humanities (NFAH), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 76 NOTE 15p. JOURNAL CIT Sign Language Studies 10; 01-94 Spr 1976 EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$1.67 Plus Postage. DESCRI2TORS Contrastive Linguistics; *Deaf; *Diachronic Linguistics; Dictionaries; Language Development; Language Research; *Language Variation; Lexicology; *Manual Communication; *Sign Langnace; Synchronic Linguistics; Syntax IDENTIFIERS *American Sign Language; French Sign Language ABSTRACT American Sign Language (ASL) is historically related to French Sign Language (FSL) of the early 19th century. A study underway at Gallaudet College is researching the historical development of both languages treating syntax, lexicon and formation. This paper deals with data in the form of still photos collected in France and published in a dictionary by Pierre Oleron. Comparison is made of formational differences between modern FSL and modern ASL signs. Differences are discussed in terms of fluidity in compounds and differences in locations, movements and handshapas. Some differences relate to historical change processes in ASL: variations in fluidity of compounds; centralization; elbow-to-hand shift; morphological preservation; compensatory lengthening; simplification of movement; assimilation of movement; rule of thumb; loss of handshape; assimilation of handshape, and G-to-H change. Other variations may be products of early creolization of FSL and ASL: movement metathesis; maximal differentiation of movement; metathesis of handshape and maximal differentiation of handshape. When there is a relation of historical change between signs of FSL and ASL, the FSL sign usually has an older form. Relationships between FSL and ASL are highly systematic and similar to historical relationships among oral languacms. (CHK) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EBBS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. * *********************************************************************** from U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. CC) EDUCATION It WELFARE SIGN LA NGUA GE ST UDIE S 10 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF N- Spring 1976@1976 W.C.Stokoe, Editor EDUCATION , .... THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO. N. DUCE0 EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM (NJ THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN AT1NG IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS T-1 STATE0 DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF C1 EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY 1.1-1 SIGNS OF CHANGE: HISTORICAL VARIATION IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE James C. Woodward, Jr. 1.0 Introduction. American Sign Language (ASL) is historicallyre- lated to French Sign Language (FSL) of the early 19th century.. In 1816, T. H. Gallaudet, a hearing American who has.' learned l'SL in Paris, along with Laurent Clerc, a deaf native of France, brought FSL to the U.S. Popular tradition states that ASL subsequently de- veloped from FSL, but there is a growing body of information that suggests that FSL was creolized with a sign language or languages already existing in the U.S. before 1816 (Woodward 1975). Very little research has been done on the historical development of either ASL or FSL. Members of the Gallaudet College Linguistics Research Laboratory are now engaged in historical study of these two languages. Drawing on previous research as well as recently collected data from 75 American and 60 French signers, the study will treat various aspects of FSL and ASL syntax, lexicon, and for- mation. This paper deals with data in the form of still photos collected in France approximately 20 years ago by Pierre OlerOn. Oleron has recently (1974) published a dictionary of 873 of these pictures, which will be compared in this paper with known data about various lects of ASL. That there is systematic variation in FSL based on age, region, social class, and sex is known, and study of it is forthcoming (Woodward & DeSantis 1975a,b); however, not all of the data on variation finds counterparts in Oleron's 1.974 dictionary. We do have data on approximately one-fourth of the signs he prints,from informants in Paris, Albi, and Marseilles. Subsequent analyses will compare the new data to the findings reported in this paper. From our initial investigations we can say that most of the signs in 014ron's book are understood at least by the Paris deaf, and a significant number of the signs are still in use there. We are currently having the signs analyzed by a young native signer of FSL in Paris to see which of the signs aro/still being used by younger informants. We have also begun a search for a suitable ASL informant PERMISSION TO REPROOUCE THts COP0 RIGHT( MA TERiAl HAS BEEN t:PANOD 2 BY e. tE)ERIC AND ORGAIWATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE US OTEICE OT EDUCATION FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REOUIRES PER MISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER Woodward 82 above the age of 80 (about thesame age as Oleron's informant) who will analyze 0161-on's book for signsthat were used in the past in America but now may have droppedout of use. This discussion of data now beingsought is not meant to take away from the findings presented here butto put the analysis in pro- per perspective: There is still much to be done.This is the first com- parison of the formation of Modern FSLusing such a large number of signs. Frishberg's study of older FSL and ASLdictionaries (1975) is referred to often here, since datathat she desafibes has beensuppor- ted by modern studies of sociolinguisticvariation among Southern U.S. Black and White deaf siwiers (Woodward1974; Woodward & Erting_ 1975). The data in Olêron (1974) indicatesthat changes completed in Frishberg's informants and stillin process in Woodward'S and Erting's informants had not begunto happen in older FSL informants. Woodward and De Santis (1975a) haveshown the same general trends in an empirical study of 75 Americanand 60 French informants, using signs on the face variably made withone hand or two. The two-hand forms are older (Frishberg 1975).The pattern of changewas the same for all signers at a 93.3% rate ofscalability. French signers used older two-hand variantsmore than did American signers (X2=52.01, df=1, p c.001). Americans over the age of 47 used oldertwo- hand forms more thanyounger Whites (X2.17, df=1, p <.05). Blacks under the age of 47 used older two-handforms more than ,did Whites of the same age (X2.89, df=1, p<.01). Before we can discuss the categoriesof change discovered in Oleron's dictionary, it willbe useful to review some previous research on ASL phonology. By sign phonology is meantthe level of sublexical structure in a sign language that is analogousto but not dependent on the phonological component of orallanguages (Battison 1974), i.e. the finite formational aspect of duality ofpatterning. Stokoe (1960 and 1965) initiated researchon this level of sign language structure and pointed out three aspects of sign formationallevel that were distinc- tive at the phonetic and relatively deep levelsof ASL phonology: the tabor place where the sign is made, the dezor hand configuration used to make the sian, and the sigor action performed in making the sign. Battison (1974) suggestsa fourth "parameter",oTientation, for sign formational analysis. Bellugi (1972) hasgiven support to this kind of linguistic analysis by psycholinguistictests that indicate that signs are processed in the short-termmemory by means of these formational units, which she calls primes. 0 R.) 83 Sign Language Studies 10 With the above discussion inmind, we will now lookat changes that have occurred in ASL thatstill have not occurred in thelanguage of Oléron's informantnor in the language of a number ofour FSL in- formants. These differences willbe discussed in terms of fluidityin compounds and of variation in locations,handshapes, and movements (tab, dez, and sig). 2.0 Fluidity. Frishberg (1975)describes fluidity as a natural histor- ical change in ASL and definesthis process as the smoothing ofcom- pound signs into one sign, eitherthrough loss of one elementof the compound or through assimilation. 2.1 Loss of compound elements.Nine dictionary-FSL compoundsigns are still produced as compounds in thedata but have lost the first unit of the compound in ASL:WINTER, COIN, PLEASE, RAISE-AGAIN, FLOWER, KNOW, SOW, RAG,MODEL (ASL, SISSY). Youngersigners of FSL were observed touse the smoothed forms for WINTER, PLEASE, and KNOW. It is not knownwhat they do with the othercompound signs. Five other FSL signs in thedictionary have lost the secondpart of the compound in ASL:EMBROIDER, COFFEE, CHINESE,CLOCK, CLOWN (ASL, FUNNY). YoungFSL signers have been observedusing the smoothed form ofCHINESE, but their use of the othersigns was nut observed. 2.2 Assimilated compounds.The FSL sign GOAT hasan 0-dez in the first part of the compoundand a bent V in the second.ASL uses bent V throughout the sign, whichis perceived by most, ifnot all, ASL signers as a non-compound (seeFigure 1, p. 52, for illustration of dez hands). 2.3 Summary of fluidity changes.Fluidity seems to be a strongerin- fluence than most of the other forcesthat will be described in this paper, since when younger FSL signerswere observed using these signs, they used the truncatedor smoothed forms. These changes in fluidity are also complete inall researched varieties of ASL.This is not the case with other changes,such as moving the location of the sign from elbow to hand, whichis well established for the ASL forms HELP, SUPPORT, WARNamong others.
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