A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

1.2.3.2. List of wh-signs

LIS contains a full paradigm ofinterrogativesigns. Below, we provide a non-exhaustive list of wh-signs.

a. what

b. which

c. who

d. why

e. when(1)

f. when(2)

g. where

h. how(1)

i. how(2)

j. how_many

Another sign commonly found in LIS interrogatives is the one glossed q_artichoke.

q_artichoke

The meaning of q_artichoke can be recovered by looking at its role in the sentence. For example, q_artichoke corresponds to the animate subject in the following sentence, so it is naturally translated by ‘who’.

A: arrive q_artichoke

B: gianni

‘Who arrived?’ ‘Gianni.’

q_artichoke corresponds to the inanimate subject in the following sentence, so it is naturally translated by ‘what’.

A: happen q_artichoke

B: gianni CL(V): ‘fall’

‘What happened?’ ‘Gianni fell down.’

q_artichokecan play other grammatical roles, as in the following sentence.

car poss₂break q_artichoke

‘Where did your car break?’

Another way to single out the specific meaning of q_artichoke is to look at the mouthing it is associated to. q_artichokemay be co-articulated with some vowels or consonants present in the corresponding Italian wh-word. For example, in the following sentence the mouthing reproducing the consonant [p] present in the corresponding Italian wh- phrase perché (‘why’) is produced simultaneously with q_artichoke.

[p]

ix₂ leave q_artichoke

‘Why are you leaving?’

In the following sentence, the mouthing producing the sound [ku] present in the corresponding Italian wh-phrase quando (‘when’) is produced simultaneously with q_artichoke.

[ku]

ix₂ leave q_artichoke

‘When are you leaving?’