A Grammar of German Sign Language (DGS)

3.1. Agreement

DGS verbs are commonly divided into three main categories based on morpho-syntactic criteria: plain verbs, agreement verbs and spatial verbs. Plain verbs [Lexicon 3.2.1] are phonologically specified for a particular place of articulation (frequently on the body, but also in the signing space or anchored to the non-dominant hand) and path movement. They cannot be spatially modified to show agreement with subject and/or object, i.e. their syntactic arguments. For example, the verbs like and cook are plain verbs. The sign like is body-anchored because the place of articulation is specified and produced on the signer’s chest and thus, cannot be modified spatially. However, although the sign cook is not body-anchored, the place of articulation is lexically specified for the neutral signing space. The movement of the sign is also lexically specified, so that the movement as such cannot be modified as well.

a. like

b. _cook

In contrast to plain verbs, agreement verbs [Lexicon 3.2.2] in DGS can be manually modified in order to show agreement with locations in the signing space associated with the subject and/or (indirect) object. The manual agreement of agreement verbs in DGS can be expressed by (i) a modification of the path movement of the verb sign, (ii) by a change in the orientation of the hand or fingertips, and (iii) by changing both, movement and orientation of the sign. DGS verbs that mark agreement only by a change of path movement are, for example, ask and help.

a. ₁ask₂

b. ₁help₂

Verbs that mark agreement by a change in finger or hand orientation are for example influence and explain. The back of the hand is orientated towards the subject while the fingertips face the object.

a. ₁influence₂

b.₁explain₂

The verb show, however, marks agreement by a modification of both the path movement and the hand orientation.

₁show₂

The third verb class distinguished in DGS is spatial verbs [Lexicon 3.2.3]. Spatial verbs also modify their path movement in order to mark agreement, but they agree with locations in signing space that are associated with locative arguments. Thus, the path movement of spatial verbs is not between the locations associated with subject and object. Rather, spatial verbs move between locations in signing space associated with topographic locations.

Furthermore, spatial verbs and agreement verbs in DGS can also be modified by the use of classifier constructions see [Morphology 5]. In classifier constructions, the handshapes are visually motivated and reflect visual-geometric or semantic properties of the involved entity. An example for a spatial verb in DGS is the sign stand. If the verb is associated with a human entity, it occurs with a { -handshape as in (a). However, if stand is associated with a non-human entity, for instance a book, the verb will be signed with a different classifier handshape, for example the ] -handshape as (b).

a. person cl(2-legs): ‘stand’