5.1.1. Entity classifiers
Entity classifiers are handshapes denoting animate or inanimate referents considering their shape as a whole, or the semantic category to which they belong. They occur with verbs expressing the motion of the referent or its localisation in space. They may be used in intransitive unaccusative predicates encoding the theme subject (SYNTAX 2.1.1.5). Movement for localisation consists in a short movement towards the plane in which the classifier is positioned in order to convey the position of the entity in space. The plane can be horizontal (for instance, a table) or vertical (for instance, a wall). On the other hand, when the predicate conveys the movement of the entity, this movement associated to the handshape can be of different kinds (straight, circle, zigzag), on different planes and towards different directions. The LIS handshapes belonging to this category are listed in the following table and described below.
Table: List of handshapes that can appear in entity classifiers in LIS
Handshape G denotes long and thin entities: humans, animals (snakes), objects (pens, pencils, poles, knives, toothbrushes, branches, trees) or vehicles (rockets). It can convey how the entity moves in space, or its position.
CL(G): ‘person_move’
‘Person coming in.’
CL(G): ‘rocket_take_off’
‘The rocket is taking off.’
Handshape 4 is used to indicate that four persons are walking, or it can be used to convey plurality and location of long and thin entities in general. To convey plurality, it can be articulated as a two-handed sign. In (a) it denotes people waiting in line, whereas in (b) it conveys the position of pillars forming a colonnade. Notice that the classifier predicates are preceded by the lexical signs for the referents, here person in (a) and pillar in (b).
a. person++ CL(4): ‘people_in_line’
‘People standing in line.’
b. pillar CL(4): ‘pillars_located_as_colonnade’
‘The pillars form a colonnade.’
Handshape 5 can be employed to refer to a crowd or to many people moving all together, like in a parade. As we can see in the example below, it configures as a two-handed sign and the distance between the two hands defines the size of the crowd.
CL(5): ‘crowd_be_located’
‘Crowd.’
Unspread 5 (either with adducted or crossed thumb) classifies flat and wide entities: vehicles (4-wheels vehicles, trains), objects (books, tables, paintings, beds, sofa, doors, carpets), and surfaces. It can convey both the movement (a) or location (b) of the referent.
a. car CL(unspread 5): ‘car_move’
‘The car is moving.’
b. sofa CL(unspread 5): ‘sofa_be_located’
‘The sofa is there.’
Unspread V can be used for flat entities, narrower than the ones denoted by the handshape above (for instance, stickers). It is mainly used to convey the position of the entity with respect to something else. In the example below, the signer conveys the position of the sticker on the cover of the book: unspread 5 indicates the book, unspread V refers to the sticker.
dom: name CL(unspread V): ‘sticker_be_located’
n-dom: CL(unspread 5): ‘book’
‘The noun (sticker) on the book.’
Flat closed 5 is a generic classifier for positioning persons or objects of big dimensions (statues, trees, columns) as in (a), or objects with a roundish shape (for instance, the classifier for lightbulb in (b)) within the signing space or with respect to other referents.
a. sculpture CL(flat closed 5): ‘sculpture_be_located’
‘The sculpture is located there.’
b. dom: CL(spread curved open 5): ‘lamp’
n-dom: CL(flat closed 5): ‘lightbulb_be_located’
‘The lightbulb is inside the lamp.’
Handshapes F and curved closed 5 are employed for thin and roundish objects (poles, table-legs), or small two-dimensional and spherical objects (little stones, buttons, watches, coins). In the example below, handshape F denotes coins piled up.
CL(F): ‘coins_piled_up’
‘A pile of coins’
Spread curved open 5 is used for three-dimensional rounded or spherical entities, such as fruits and vegetables, big animals, or vehicles (balloons). It can also denote very big entities such as houses, churches or even villages.
house CL(spread curved open 5): ‘house_be_located’
‘The house is located there.’
Unspread curved open 5 refers to three-dimensional cylindrical and curved entities (pipes, rolled-up carpets, binoculars), or small containers (glasses, cups, bottles). In the example below, the two hands denote two different objects conveying their reciprocal positions by employing two different handshape classifiers.
dom: plate cup CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘cup’
n-dom: plate CL(curved open L): ‘plate’-------------------------------------------
‘The big cup is on a small plate.’
Curved open L is employed for roundish two-dimensional objects (plates, frames, clock-faces, but also small cups).
CL(curved open L): ‘plate’
Flat open L or flat open 3 can denote narrow two-dimensional square/rectangular objects such as stickers or stripes. In the example below, the classifier is used to describe the position of the stripes of the carpet.
dom: CL(flat open L): ‘stripes_be_located’
n-dom: CL(unspread 5): ‘carpet’
‘The stripes on the carpet.’
Handshape L is a classifier for square two-dimensional objects (paintings, mirrors).
Handshape Y is the classifier for phone handsets and airplanes. Associated to a verb of motion, it conveys the journey and the path of the airplane. Curved open V can be used for chairs or sleighs. If reduplicated or articulated with both hands, it conveys plurality.
chair CL(curved open V): ‘chair_be_located’
‘The chair is positioned there.’
Handshape 3 denotes two-wheels vehicles (bikes, motor-cycles). It can convey their position (a), or their path-movement (b). Notice that in (a) sideward movement conveys both location and plurality.
a. motorcycle CL(3): ‘vehicle_parked’
‘The motorcycles are parked there.’
b. motorcycle CL(3): ‘vehicle_move’
‘The motorcycle is going.’
Flat closed L, flat open L, curved open L, or unspread curved open 5 can also be employed to convey information about changes in length, height or volume of some entities. The handshape selected expresses a decrease or an increase, being more or less open, or displaying more or less fingers selected. For instance, they can denote a cigarette becoming shorter, a liquid that diminishes in a glass, a pile of book or papers which is reducing.
cigarette CL(flat open L): ‘cigarette_reduce’
‘The cigarette becomes shorter while smoking.’
Handshape V can denote objects such as scissors or chopsticks for Oriental food. In (a), this handshape is used to convey plurality and location by being reduplicated within the signing space; in (b) it denotes the chopsticks used to eat.
a. CL(V): ‘scissors_be_located’++
‘There are many scissors here.’
b. dom: chopstick CL(V): ‘eat_with_chopsticks’
n-dom: CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘box’
‘Eating Chinese food with chopsticks.’
