3.2.1. Time lines
Temporal information is expressed in LIS through a spatial metaphor which visualizes time as a line with respect to the signer’s body. More specifically, the space in front of the signer represents the future, the space in which the signer is located, or the positions very close to the signer’s body, represent the present, the space behind the signer represents the past. Therefore, points of the signing space can be considered abstract morphemes which combine with temporal adverbials or verbs in order to convey temporal information and are used as references to locate events in time. In general, in LIS this visual metaphor can be conveyed through non-manual markers occurring with the lexical sign for the verb (MORPHOLOGY 3.2.2), or it can be encoded into temporal adverbials.
Temporal adverbials referring to the past display a movement and orientation of the palm towards the space behind the signer; temporal adverbials referring to the present are produced in front of the signer in a position very close to his/her body; temporal adverbials referring to the future are directed towards an indefinite point of the space in front of the signer. Being articulated more or less close to the body of the signer, temporal adverbials can locate events in the far past, near past, present, near future, future and far future. The time adverbials reported below show the realisation of the time line in LIS moving from the back to the front of the signer.
past
yesterday
before
recently
today
tomorrow
future
