Abstract
Facial expressions in sign languages are used to express grammatical functions, such as question marking, but can also be used to express emotions (either the signer's own or in constructed action contexts). Emotions and grammatical functions can utilize the same articulators, and the combinations can be congruent or incongruent. For instance, surprise and polar questions can be marked by raised eyebrows, while anger is usually marked by lowered eyebrows. We investigated what happens when different emotions (neutral/surprise/anger) are combined with different sentence types (statement/polar question/wh-question) in Kazakh-Russian Sign Language (KRSL), replicating studies previously made for other sign languages. We asked 9 native signers (5 deaf, 4 hearing children of deaf adults) to sign 10 simple sentences in 9 conditions (3 emotions * 3 sentence types). We used OpenPose software to track eyebrow position in the video recordings. We found that emotions and sentence types influence eyebrow position in KRSL: eyebrows are raised for polar questions and surprise, and lowered for anger. There are also some interactions between the two factors, as well as some differences between hearing and deaf native signers, namely a smaller effect of polar questions for the deaf group, and a different interaction between emotions and wh-question marking in the two groups. We thus find evidence for the complex influences on non-manual behavior in signers of sign languages, and showcase a quantitative approach to this field.
Highlights
Sign languages use facial expressions for a variety of reasons, including marking grammatical functions [1]
When we informally looked at the dataset, it Eyebrow position in Kazakh-Russian Sign Language: A quantitative study appeared that the main non-manual marker of wh-questions in KRSL is chin raise on the wh-sign
In this paper we reported the results of first ever quantitative investigation of eyebrow position affected by grammar and emotions in KRSL
Summary
Sign languages use facial expressions for a variety of reasons, including marking grammatical functions [1]. Signers can express emotions through facial expressions, either their own, or, more importantly, of someone else in the context of constructed action or speech, when the signer quotes someone [2]. Since facial expressions can be used to express different functions, sometimes a clash between the functions can occur. In many sign languages, polar questions are marked with raised eyebrows [3].
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