Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Swarthmore College February 25th, 2015 Tri-Co Linguistics Lecture Series Swarthmore College Roadmap of the talk 1 Articulatory effort 2 Sign language phonetics 3 Active effort 4 Reactive effort 5 Summary Articulatory effort Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Background Long tradition of functional work recognizing the importance of reducing articulatory effort in (spoken) language: Passy 1891, Jespersen 1894, Martinet 1952, 1955, Kiparsky 1968, King 1969, Lindblom and Maddieson 1988, Lindblom 1990, Vennemann 1993, Willerman 1994, Flemming 1995, Boersma 1998, Hayes 1999, etc. Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Defining articulatory effort Kirchner 1998, 2004: Sum of all articulatory forces involved throughout the duration of the articulation, both those which result in movement and those which isometrically hold an articulator in place. Z tj total articulatory effort = jF(t)j dt ti Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Strategies for effort reduction I reduce number of moving articulators I reduce distance moved I reduce mass moved I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces I and probably others Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I reduce distance moved: e.g. place assimilation I reduce mass moved: e.g. shift of palatals to coronals I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: Kirchner’s explanation for why lenition results in non-strident, rather than strident, continuants Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in spoken languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of labiovelars to velars Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I reduce mass moved: e.g. shift of palatals to coronals I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: Kirchner’s explanation for why lenition results in non-strident, rather than strident, continuants Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in spoken languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of labiovelars to velars I reduce distance moved: e.g. place assimilation Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: Kirchner’s explanation for why lenition results in non-strident, rather than strident, continuants Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in spoken languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of labiovelars to velars I reduce distance moved: e.g. place assimilation I reduce mass moved: e.g. shift of palatals to coronals Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in spoken languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of labiovelars to velars I reduce distance moved: e.g. place assimilation I reduce mass moved: e.g. shift of palatals to coronals I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: Kirchner’s explanation for why lenition results in non-strident, rather than strident, continuants Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I reduce distance moved: e.g. location undershoot (ASL KNOW is sometimes articulated under the eye) I reduce mass moved: stay tuned! I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: stay tuned! Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in sign languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of two-handed signs to one-handed (ASL COW used to be two-handed) Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I reduce mass moved: stay tuned! I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: stay tuned! Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in sign languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of two-handed signs to one-handed (ASL COW used to be two-handed) I reduce distance moved: e.g. location undershoot (ASL KNOW is sometimes articulated under the eye) Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Articulatory effort Background Sign language phonetics Defining articulatory effort Active effort Strategies for effort reduction Reactive effort Effort reduction in spoken languages Summary Effort reduction in sign languages Effort reduction in sign languages I reduce number of moving articulators: e.g. simplification of two-handed signs to one-handed (ASL COW used to be two-handed) I reduce distance moved: e.g. location undershoot (ASL KNOW is sometimes articulated under the eye) I reduce mass moved: stay tuned! I reduce isometric (stabilizing) forces: stay tuned! Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Sign language phonetics I language < Latin lingua ‘tongue’ I but despite etymology, language refers to any language, regardless of its modality (i.e. both sign and spoken) I similarly, despite etymology, phonetics refers to (the study of) the physical properties of any language, regardless of its modality Articulatory effort Etymology is not meaning Sign language phonetics Sign language articulators Active effort Manual joints Reactive effort Manual movement Summary Etymology is not meaning “Sign language phonetics”? I phonetics < Greek φωνή (phon¯ e)¯ ‘sound’ Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I but despite etymology, language refers to any language, regardless of its modality (i.e. both sign and spoken) I similarly, despite etymology, phonetics refers to (the study of) the physical properties of any language, regardless of its modality Articulatory effort Etymology is not meaning Sign language phonetics Sign language articulators Active effort Manual joints Reactive effort Manual movement Summary Etymology is not meaning “Sign language phonetics”? I phonetics < Greek φωνή (phon¯ e)¯ ‘sound’ I language < Latin lingua ‘tongue’ Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics I similarly, despite etymology, phonetics refers to (the study of) the physical properties of any language, regardless of its modality Articulatory effort Etymology is not meaning Sign language phonetics Sign language articulators Active effort Manual joints Reactive effort Manual movement Summary Etymology is not meaning “Sign language phonetics”? I phonetics < Greek φωνή (phon¯ e)¯ ‘sound’ I language < Latin lingua ‘tongue’ I but despite etymology, language refers to any language, regardless of its modality (i.e. both sign and spoken) Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Articulatory effort Etymology is not meaning Sign language phonetics Sign language articulators Active effort Manual joints Reactive effort Manual movement Summary Etymology is not meaning “Sign language phonetics”? I phonetics < Greek φωνή (phon¯ e)¯ ‘sound’ I language < Latin lingua ‘tongue’ I but despite etymology, language refers to any language, regardless of its modality (i.e. both sign and spoken) I similarly, despite etymology, phonetics refers to (the study of) the physical properties of any language, regardless of its modality Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli Active and reactive effort in sign language phonetics Articulatory effort Etymology is not meaning Sign language phonetics Sign language articulators Active effort Manual joints Reactive effort Manual movement Summary Sign language articulators manual arms, hands, fingers, thumbs nonmanual eyebrows, nostrils, lips, tongue, head, torso Nathan Sanders and Donna Jo Napoli