Article published in:
Gesture
Vol. 17:1 (2018) ► pp. 1–36

Pointing to the body

Kin signs in Australian Indigenous sign languages

| The University of Melbourne
| University of Cologne
| Monash University
| Australian National University
Kinship plays a central role in organizing interaction and other social behaviors in Indigenous Australia. The spoken lexicon of kinship has been the target of extensive consideration by anthropologists and linguists alike. Less well explored, however, are the kin categories expressed through sign languages (notwithstanding the pioneering work of Adam Kendon). This paper examines the relational categories codified by the kin signs of four language-speaking groups from different parts of the Australian continent: the Anmatyerr from Central Australia; the Yolŋu from North East Arnhem Land; the Kuuk Thaayorre from Cape York and the Ngaatjatjarra/​Ngaanyatjarra from the Western Desert. The purpose of this examination is twofold. Firstly, we compare the etic kin relationships expressed by kin signs with their spoken equivalents. In all cases, categorical distinctions made in the spoken system are systematically merged in the sign system. Secondly, we consider the metonymic relationships between the kin categories expressed in sign and the various parts of the body at which those signs are articulated.
Keywords: Australian Indigenous languages, sign language typology, kinship, bimodal contact
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Australian kinship systems
  • Kin signs and the body
  • Anmatyerr sign from the Northern Central Desert
    • Other dimensions of Anmatyerr signing in the kin domain
  • Yolŋu signs from North East Arnhem Land
    • Yolŋu spoken languages
    • Yolŋu kinship
    • Yolŋu kin signs
    • Mouthings with Yolŋu kin signs
  • Kuuk Thaayorre sign from Cape York
  • Ngaanyatjarra sign from the Western Desert
    • Signs for Ngaanyatjarra moieties
  • Mappings and mismatches between kin signs and spoken kin terms
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • On-line resources
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 19 October 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.00009.gre
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