1.5. Impersonal reference
By impersonal reference, we intend the reference to individuals whose identity is not clear. When impersonal constructions are used, the degree of reference in the discourse is very low.
In LIS, impersonal reference can be marked by several strategies, both manual and non-manual. The manual signs triggering a low referential interpretation are the signs someone and person, both functioning as indefinite pronouns. These signs are found with special non-manuals highlighting that the signer does not know the identity of the referent: they combine raised eyebrows (re), chin slightly raised (cu), and mouth-corners pulled downward (md). To convey an agent-backgrounding reading, these non-manuals are obligatory with the sign person (a) and optional with the sign someone (b).
re
md
cu
a. person
‘Someone’
md
cu
b. someone
‘Someone’
The examples below show how the signs person (a) and someone (b) convey an impersonal reading.
re
md
cu
a. person house enter
‘Someone entered my house.’ (recreated from Mantovan & Geraci, 2018: 233)
re
md
cu
b. someone house enter
‘Someone entered my house.’ (recreated from Mantovan & Geraci, 2018: 233)
Another strategy that can be used to convey impersonality is null subject. In the example below, subject omission is compatible with a singular or plural referent. If no particular facial expressions are produced, the null subject is ambiguous between the referential and the impersonal reading. However, if the impersonal non-manuals described above spread over the verb or the entire clause, the impersonal reading becomes more prominent.
house enter
‘Someone entered my house.’ (recreated from Mantovan & Geraci, 2018: 233)
The null subject is the preferred impersonal strategy when generalising or corporate readings are involved. The example below is characterised by a generalised interpretation because the subject of the sentence does not refer to some particular Spanish individual, rather to a collectivity (i.e. Spanish people).
be_common ix(loc) spain eat late
‘In Spain, people are used to eat late.’
The corporate reading emerges when a designated group of people is selected. In the example below, the subject does not refer to some particular individual, rather to the government or another institutional group.
tax raise
‘The government/they raised the taxes.’ (recreated from Mantovan & Geraci, 2018: 251)
The difference between referential and impersonal readings can be marked by the use of space. Referential readings emerge through the selection of specific points of the neutral space, whereas impersonality usually involves undefined and unmarked locations. In the case of plain verbs (LEXICON 3.2.1), impersonality does not affect the form of the verbal sign. In the example below, the verb smoke is produced in its citation form and the subject is omitted.
house inside smoke forbidden
‘It is not allowed to smoke in the house.’ (recreated from Bertone, 2011: 186)
In the case of agreeing verbs (LEXICON 3.2.2), impersonality is conveyed through the multiple repetitions of the verb in different locations of an undefined central area of the signing space. In the example below, the agreeing verb report is repeated with both hands in different unmarked locations suggesting that there are several different agents and patients whose identity is not clear.
report++ ix woman ix pregnant
‘It’s rumoured that the woman is pregnant.’
With backward agreeing verbs, impersonality is also conveyed through reduplication in different unmarked location. In the example below, the backward agreeing verb copy is repeated by alternating the two hands.
re
test pass palm_up obligation copy++
‘To pass the test, you have to copy.’
Finally, note that regular personal pronouns (LEXICON 3.7) cannot be used to convey an impersonal interpretation. Pointing pronouns, directed toward specific locations in space, refer to some contextually salient individual. However, an exception can be found in conditional clauses. Under a conditional-context, both the first- and second-person pronouns can receive an impersonal interpretation. This special behaviour of pointing pronouns can be observed in the two examples below: both ix1 (a) and ix2 (b) are associated with an impersonal value.
cond
a. ix1 cara seizea automatic ix1 jail inside
‘If somebody steals a car, then he goes to jail.’
cond
b. ix2 person++a offenda exclude2 second
‘If somebody is offensive, s/he is immediately excluded.’
