Unlike most spoken languages, German Sign Language (DGS) does not have a single means of reciprocal marking. Rather, different strategies are used, which crucially depend on phonological (one-handed sign vs. two-handed sign) and morphosyntactic (plain verb vs. agreement verb) properties of the underlying verb. Moreover, with plain verbs DGS shows dialectal variation. Altogether there are four different ways of realizing reciprocal marking in DGS. In this paper, we compare a rule-based analysis for the reciprocal data (based on Brentari’s 1998 feature hierarchy) to an optimality-theoretic analysis. We argue that an OT-account allows for a more straightforward explanation of the facts. In particular, we show that the different strategies as well as the variation can be accounted for by the interaction of four, independently motivated constraints.
Brentari, Diane, Susan Goldin-Meadow, Laura Horton, Ann Senghas & Marie Coppola
2024. The organization of verb meaning in Lengua de Señas Nicaragüense (LSN): Sequential or simultaneous structures?. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 9:1
van Boven, Cindy, Silke Hamann & Roland Pfau
2023. Nominal plurals in Sign Language of the Netherlands: Accounting for allomorphy and variation. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 8:1
Ergin, Rabia, Ann Senghas, Ray Jackendoff & Lila Gleitman
2016. Modality and meaning: Plurality of relations in German Sign Language. Lingua 170 ► pp. 69 ff.
Pfau, Roland & Markus Steinbach
2023. Morphology in Sign Languages. In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Morphology, ► pp. 1 ff.
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