The expression of motion events in homesign

Abstract

This study examined the Frog Story narratives of two adolescent homesigners in order to investigate whether homesign shares characteristics with ASL in the expression of motion events. Specifically, the study examined whether the homesigners would (1) combine conceptual elements of figure, ground, path and manner in single signs, and (2) whether the path element would form a central part of the expression of motion events. Results indicated that the homesigners each used a unique strategy to express motion events, neither of which resembled ASL verbs of motion. The homesigners combined fewer conceptual elements in their signs, and one of the two homesigners rarely encoded path. The results imply that the structure of ASL verbs of motion is not an inevitable outcome of either the modality or the rich use of visual iconicity in ASL, and may only be possible after the emergence of other grammatical structures.This study examined the Frog Story narratives of two adolescent homesigners in order to investigate whether homesign shares characteristics with ASL in the expression of motion events. Specifically, the study examined whether the homesigners would (1) combine conceptual elements of figure, ground, path and manner in single signs, and (2) whether the path element would form a central part of the expression of motion events. Results indicated that the homesigners each used a unique strategy to express motion events, neither of which resembled ASL verbs of motion. The homesigners combined fewer conceptual elements in their signs, and one of the two homesigners rarely encoded path. The results imply that the structure of ASL verbs of motion is not an inevitable outcome of either the modality or the rich use of visual iconicity in ASL, and may only be possible after the emergence of other grammatical structures.