4.5.1. Prenominal vs. postnominal adjectives
Considering the distribution of an attributive adjective with respect to the noun it modifies, the most frequent pattern in LIS is: noun + adjective. This distribution holds for provenance, colour, shape, size, and quality adjectives, as shown in the examples below. The provenance adjective german (a), the colour adjective red (b), the shape adjective round (c), the size adjective big (d), and the quality adjective beautiful (e) follow the noun they modify.
a. woman german ix(dem) ix1 communicate impossible
‘It is impossible for me to talk with that German woman.’
b. book red cost SASS(flat closed L): ‘little’
‘The red book is cheap.’
c. canteen table round exist
‘In the canteen, there is a round table.’
d. ix1 dream house big
‘I dream of a big house.’
e. travel america ix(loc) experience beautiful
‘My travel to the States was a beautiful experience.’
Other types of adjectives, such as other, next, and last, show the same preference for a postnominal distribution.
ix1 wait summer next
‘I am looking forward to the next summer.’
Although they do not constitute the most frequent pattern, some cases of prenominal adjectives (adjective + noun) are occasionally observed. They are almost exclusively quality adjectives. Here we provide an example with beautiful.
travel america ix(loc) beautiful experience
‘My travel to the States was a beautiful experience.’
Sometimes, the prenominal distribution in LIS might be reminiscent of Italian word order. For example, the Italian adjective ex is always prenominal (Ita. la mia ex fidanzata, ‘my ex girlfriend’). As shown below, the same distribution is found with the sign ex in LIS.
ex girlfriend city move
‘My ex-girlfriend moved to another city.’
