Form, meaning, and focus in American Sign Language / Miako N.P. Rankin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rankin, Miako N. P., author.

Series:

Sociolinguistics in deaf communities series ; v. 19.

Sociolinguistics in deaf communities series ; volume 19

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American Sign Language.

Deaf people--Means of communication.

Deaf people.

Language and culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (149 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, District of Columbia : Gallaudet University Press, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The meaning of any linguistic expression resides not only in the words, but also in the ways that those words are conveyed. In her new study, Miako N. P. Rankin highlights the crucial interrelatedness of form and meaning at all levels in order to consider specific types of American Sign Language (ASL) expression. In particular, Form, Meaning, and Focus in American Sign Language considers how ASL expresses non-agent focus, similar to the meaning of passive voice in English. Rankin's analyses of the form-meaning correspondences of ASL expressions of non-agent focus reveals an underlying pattern that can be traced across sentence and verb types. This pattern produces meanings with various levels of focus on the agent. Rankin has determined in her meticulous study that the pattern of form-meaning characteristic of non-agent focus in ASL is used prolifically in day-to-day language. The recognition of the frequency of this pattern holds implications regarding the acquisition of ASL, the development of curricula for teaching ASL, and the analysis of ASL discourse in effective interpretation.

Contents:

Editorial advisory board

Acknowledgments

Editor's note

Introduction

Foundational concepts

Features relevant to defocusing agents in ASL

Defocused agents in ASL utterances

ASL structures used to express reduced agent focus

Agent focus in ASL Texts

Agent focus in ASL-to-English translation

Conclusion

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed February 14, 2015).

ISBN:

9781563685743

1563685744

OCLC:

867742243