Iconicity as a pervasive force in language

What is it about?

Iconicity; the relationship between the form of a sign and its meaning is important in linguistics analysis. This work explores how visual and spatial elements are expressed in Ghanaian Sign Language (GhSL) and Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL), both used in Ghana. The study involves three main analyses, drawing data from deaf signers through activities like lexical elicitation and storytelling. The first analysis looks at the iconic aspects of words in both languages, comparing them to gestures used by hearing individuals in nearby communities. The second analysis focuses on how space is iconically used in sign language to represent location, motion, and action. The third analysis specifically examines simultaneous constructions, comparing their usage in the two sign languages.

Featured Image

Photo by Nic Rosenau on Unsplash

Photo by Nic Rosenau on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Through a cross-linguistic investigation of lexical and grammatical iconicity, this work has added to our knowledge of iconicity in the visual-spatial modality. Among the most significant findings are the following: The apparent contact between GhSL and AdaSL, on the one hand, and AdaSL and Adamorobe gesturers, on the other, reveals the subtle but pervasive effect of languages in contact; and AdaSL appears to be gradually shifting away from character-only and narrator perspectives and towards observer and character-observer in story retellings.