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Phonological variation and change in Australian and New Zealand Sign Languages: The location variable

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2009

Adam Schembri ,
David McKee ,
Rachel McKee ,
Sara Pivac ,
Trevor Johnston  and
Della Goswell
Adam Schembri
Affiliation:
University College London
David McKee
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington
Rachel McKee
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington
Sara Pivac
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington
Trevor Johnston
Affiliation:
Macquarie University
Della Goswell
Affiliation:
Macquarie University
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Abstract

In this study, we consider variation in a class of signs in Australian and New Zealand Sign Languages that includes the signs think, name, and clever. In their citation form, these signs are specified for a place of articulation at or near the signer's forehead or above, but are sometimes produced at lower locations. An analysis of 2667 tokens collected from 205 deaf signers in five sites across Australia and of 2096 tokens collected from 138 deaf signers from three regions in New Zealand indicates that location variation in these signs reflects both linguistic and social factors, as also reported for American Sign Language (Lucas, Bayley, & Valli, 2001). Despite similarities, however, we find that some of the particular factors at work, and the kinds of influence they have, appear to differ in these three signed languages. Moreover, our results suggest that lexical frequency may also play a role.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , July 2009 , pp. 193 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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