A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

Focus in LIS can be marked by several strategies: syntactical, morphological, lexical, and prosodic. As for syntax, focality in LIS may affect word order in both contrastive and new informational focus (PRAGMATICS 4.1).  As for the lexical strategies, focused items may be accompanied by focus particles, such as only, also and even (more details are provided below). As for the morphological and prosodic cues which accompany focus elements, these markers can be manual or non-manual. Manually, focus items can be affected by a lengthening of the sign, a larger amplitude, and a higher speed in signing. Non-manually, some types of focus can be accompanied by raised eyebrows, wide eyes, head forward, and leftward or rightward head tilt and/or body lean. Furthermore, some non-manuals fulfil the function of marking prosodic boundaries among constituents: in LIS, these markers are head nod and eye blink. The use of these markers does not seem to be mandatory: their use might depend on the type of focus or on the pragmatic context. In the remainder of the section, for each type of focus, we provide a description of the manual and non-manual markers used by LIS signers.

         New information focus (PRAGMATICS 4.1.2) in LIS is not obligatorily marked by manual and non-manual features. It is very often accompanied by mouthing or mouth gestures, but it does not seem to be marked by other non-manual cues. As for the manual features, signs conveying new information focus are lengthened and can be realised with a wider amplitude than non-focus signs.

 

 

 

                                                      wh                           

         A:           ix₂ buy q_artichoke

                                        foc

         B:           ix₁ car new buy ix₁

         ‘What did you buy?’ ‘I bought a new car.'

 

Similarly to new information focus, contrastive focus (PRAGMATICS 4.1.3) may be syntactically manipulated, by changing the word order position. However, differently from new information focus, contrastive focus is mostly marked by manual and non-manual features. The most frequent non-manual markers involved in the realisation of contrastive focus items are mouthing, raised eyebrows (re), and wide eyes (we). They generally spread over the item or over the whole clause, as in the example below. Multiple head nods (hn++) can also accompany the production of the focused part of the clause. Sometimes the contrastive focus item is also marked by forward body lean (bl-f), which signals prominence.

 

 

 

         Context: Someone says that the signer likes pizza.

                                                     hn++

                                                         we

                                                          re  

         not ix₁ chestnut ix₁ like ix₁

         ‘No, I do love chestnuts!'

 

Contrastive meaning can also be conveyed through leftward (bl-left) and rightward (bl-right) body lean, so that the negated item and the corrected focus item are located in two different positions in space.

 

 

 

         Context: Someone says that the signer likes pizza.

                                                                  bl-left                     bl-right

         ix₁ pizza_a ix_a ix₁ impossible_no_way ix₁ adore_b sushi_b

         ‘No, I do not like pizza, I adore sushi!'

 

Emphasis (PRAGMATICS 4.1.4) can be conveyed both through the use of the lexical items person (a)or self (b) and through non-manual markers, such as wide eye (we) and forward body lean (bl-f).

 

 

 

                                                                          we

                                                                        bl-f             

         a.            ix₁ see_a president_a pe_a person_a

         ‘I saw the President in person!’

 

 

 

         b.            ix₁ self pay self

         ‘I pay for myself!’

 

In LIS, there are lexical particles which attribute focus to a specific item, thus modifying its meaning. The most frequent particles in LIS are only, also and even, shown in the examples below. They commonly follow the focus item, but they may also precede it. only is a restrictive focus particle which excludes the alternatives from a given set. The particle only is marked by raised eyebrows (re) and wide eyes (we).

 

 

 

                               we

                                re

          ix₁ pasta_a only_a sauce_b add neg_s_b better

         ‘I (want) pasta only, it is better not to add any sauce.’

 

By contrast, also conveys an additive meaning, establishing that at least one more element is added to the focus set. The focus particle also is generally accompanied by multiple head nods (hn++), as shown below.

        

 

 

         Context: Someone says that s/he knows Anna.

                  hn++

          also ix₁

         ‘Me too.’

        

The focus particle also is also shown in the discourse stretch below.

 

 

 

         A:           ix₁ sushi ix₁ adore

                                  hn++

         B:           also ix₁

         ‘I love sushi.’ ‘Me too.’

 

A second use of also exists and it not only expands the focus set including an additional constituent from an alternative set, but it also conveys an additional scalar interpretation to the focus item, implicating that the inclusion of the associated item is unlikely. This particle has the meaning of ‘even’ and it is mostly marked by furrowed eyebrows (fe) and single (hn) or multiple head nods (hn++). We provide an illustrative example below.

 

 

 

                                                                                hn++

                    top                                                             we

         pope_a ix_a group_b god believe not also like ix_b ix_a

         ‘Even atheist people like the Pope!’

 

Sometimes, when the focus items are more than one, specific non-manual markers spread over the various items. In the example below, the contrastive focus involves two items: the first one (chocolate) is marked by a leftward body lean, while the second one (strawberry) is accompanied by a rightward body lean in order to underline the existence of two distinct entities. It is interesting to note that, in such case, raised eyebrows spread only over the first item.

 

 

 

                                                                    re

                                           wh          bl-left           bl-right

         ix₂ want prefer which chocolate strawberry

         ‘Which one do you prefer? Chocolate or strawberry?’