A Grammar of German Sign Language (DGS)

The phonological phrase in DGS is marked by rhythmic markers such as pauses and holds, and also by the change of non-manuals usually at the right edge of phonological phrases, very often by head nods and eye blinks. As opposed to a more systematic boundary marking at the intonational phrase level [Phonology 2.2.3.], the marking is subtler and generally less markers are at play. Furthermore, the marking often co-occurs parallel to the rightmost sign of a phonological phrase. The spreading of intonational domain markers for sentence types, parts of coordinate and subordinate structures, for instance, may cross a phonological phrase boundary (see example below, where a head tilt backwards accompanies three smaller prosodic units).

b                    b                                                             b                        b

     we, ht-f                                                                    hs

             re                                                                                           ht-b

ix₃ come :     door open leave :    shut_door never gesture annoy

‘When he comes, he leaves the door open and never shuts it. That´s annoying.’

(based on Herrmann, 2010: 9)

For DGS, the literature mostly mentions total spreading instead of partial spreading of the non-manual markers.