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Historical Linguistics 2015: Selected papers from the 22nd International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Naples, 27-31 July 2015
Edited by Michela Cennamo and Claudia Fabrizio
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 348] 2019
► pp. 519–560

Chapter 25
Grammaticalizing the face in a first generation sign language

The case of “Z”

Zincantec Family Homesign (or “Z”) is a first generation sign-language emerging in a single family in Chiapas, Mexico. Despite its very short history Z demonstrates how speakers’ gestures can “jump” into the lexicon of a newly created sign language and become further specialized via processes of grammaticalization. This paper moves beyond the grammaticalization of manual signs to consider how facial expressions can similarly be incorporated into the emerging lexicon and morphosyntax of even a very young sign language, contributing to the systematic expression of such grammatical categories as affective and epistemic stance.
Keywords: grammaticalization, sign-language, pragmatics, evolution of language, emergence, emerging sign language, homesign, non-manual signs, facial expression, stance, evidential, affect
Article outline
  • 1.Z: A first generation sign language
  • 2.A brief typology of Z signs
  • 3.An instance of grammaticalization in Z
  • 4.Affect and attention on the face
  • 5.Grammars of the face
  • 6.The frown: Critical uncertainty
  • 7.Conclusion and summary
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 10 September 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.348.25hav
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