نشریه پژوهشهای زبانشناسی (Sep 2022)
Negation in Iranian Sign Language (Tehrani Variety)
Abstract
AbstractIranian deaf people use sign language in their interactions. It is a natural language with its own grammar independent from language itself. The purpose of this research was to investigate the construction of negation in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety). The research method was taken from the cross-linguistic researches done by Zashen et al. (2004 & 2006), which were conducted on 38 sign languages. 7 profound deaf adults that were fluent in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety) were selected by using a purposive sampling method. An interpreter and a sign language consultant were present at all stages of the research. To collect the data, video recording and observation of the signers’ language behaviors during the presentation of linguistic stimuli, as well as targeted observation of some films in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety), were done. The data were entered into the ELAN software program for analysis. The data analysis showed that in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety), negation marking could be seen in different forms both manually and non-manually. Non-manual negation was not mandatory and could include the whole clause (minus any topicalised constituents) or part/parts of a clause. The basic negators of the clause (manual negative particle) were NOT, NO, NONE, NEVER, and NOT-EXIST. A lot of negation cliticisation were observed.Keywords: Sign Language, Iranian Sign Language (Tehrani Variety), Negation, Deaf People, Negative Particle, Manual Negation, Non-Manual Negation Introduction Iranian deaf people use sign language in their interactions. It is a natural language with its own grammar independent from language itself. Unfortunately, there are not enough documents about the history of sign language in Iran. This sign language was called "Farsi sign language" in the not-so-distant past, but it seemed that "Iranian sign language" was currently used more by the deaf community of Iran. Recently, Gitti (2022) has introduced the word "Asharani" to the Iranian deaf community. The purpose of this study was to investigate the construction of negation in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety). Materials and Method This research was descriptive from the perspective of data analysis and qualitative dealing with a case study. The outline of this research was taken from the cross-linguistic researches done by Zashen and her colleagues (2004 & 2006). These researches were conducted about sign languages around the world at the Max Planck Institute in the Netherlands.The participants of this research, who were selected based on the purposeful sampling method, included 7 congenitally profoundly deaf adults (4 women and 3 men) living in Tehran, who had hearing aids and were in the age range of 35-40 years. Except for 1 person, who was a student, the rest of them were working. All of them were literate with a diploma to Ph.D. students in linguistics, had been exposed to sign language from an early age, and daily used Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety) in the family and different social environments. All of these subjects had the ability to understand the spoken Persian language and express it in writing. A translator was present in all stages of data collection. An Iranian sign language researcher worked as a consultant in this research. The main method of data collection in this research was "observation". To collect the data, first, video recording and observation of the signers’ linguistic behaviors were done during presenting the linguistic stimuli (a list of linguistic forms in the form of sentences, words, and pictures). Also, a targeted observation of videos in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety) that could be found in virtual social media, such as Telegram and Instagram, was carried out to obtain more spontaneous data. In total, about 354 minutes of videos showing Iranian Sign Language (Tehrani variety) were obtained for analysis. Then, the data were entered into the ELAN software program for more detailed description, interpretation, and analysis. Discussion of Results and Conclusion The research data showed that in Iranian sign language (Tehrani variety), negation marking could be seen in different forms both manually and non-manually. Non-manual negation was not mandatory in Iranian sign language and could include the whole clause (minus any topicalised constituents) or part/parts of a clause. Specific rules that indicated when non-manual negation had to be used alongside manual negation were not observed in this research, except when negating the emphasizing that non-manual negation acted as an integral part of manual negation and played the role of strengthening negation of a negative sentence or showed a special case by moving the head as a sign of negation and giving a simple negative answer of one word while negation alone was enough. Negation was done at the level of a clause (sentence) via manual negative gestures. These main negative clauses were NOT, NO, NONE, NEVER, and NOT-EXIST. The negators were all placed at the end of the clause after the predicate (S-O-V (Neg)), except in cases where they replaced the negative verb at the end of the clause to cause its negation. On the other hand, it was observed that the negation morpheme together with the predicate sign could create a structure, in which the negation morpheme always occurred after the predicate. Hence, the negation morpheme could be an affix or a clitic. According to the research data, the frequency of negation cliticisation was high in the Iranian sign language, while the main negator of the clause including NOT could be often cliticisating according to the previous sign. Other types of irregular negations (simultaneous negation and negative suppletion) could be also seen in this sign language with less frequency.This research was able to describe and document part of the grammar used by Iranian deaf people, who lived in Tehran, along with the few linguistic researches on Iranian sign language, and validate its naturalness and grammar (in Negation category). It seems that strengthening of sign language linguistics and subsequently the practical dimensions of such researches for language planning, compilation of textbooks and sign language teaching, implementation of linguistic research, and presentation or explanation of linguistic theories, etc. is of particular importance.
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