Variation in classifi er predications in Polish Sign Language: a pilot study

Abstract

This paper describes the fi ndings of a pilot research on the application of object classifi ers and body parts in classifi er predications referring to one designatum, i.e. the dog in the picture story Frog, Where Are You?. The research showed that the frequency of the classifi ers in informants’ texts varied. One classifi er type prevailed when describing the majority of situations. Moreover, for each classifi er type used in a given situation, there was a clear predominance of one of the possible shapes of hand, while the remaining ones were similar to it. From among body part classifi ers, the least specifi c shapes of hand prevailed, which rendered the look of dog head to the smallest extent. These observations prove a high level of grammaticalisation of object classifi ers and poorly specifi c body part classifi ers