A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

Events in LIS can be represented by a specific perspective, depending on the way the referents are localised in the signing space. Two main types of perspective representations exist: the observer perspective, where the signer assumes an external point of view, and the character perspective, where the signer takes on an internal point of view. In the first case, the signer presents a description of the whole event mapping the entities in a reduced size onto the space in front of the signer’s body. In this case, the entity classifiers (MORPHOLOGY 5.1) are the mostly used strategy for reproducing the event. The observer perspective is shown in the example below.

 

 

 

         france ix(loc) protest CL(4): ‘people_in_parade’ CL(5): ‘crowd_be_located’

         ‘In France, many people are protesting in a parade.’

 

Differently, in the case of the character perspective, the signer represents the event by assuming the role of an entity involved in the event (PRAGMATICS 6). In such case, the integral perspective is mostly represented through the use of handle classifiers (MORPHOLOGY 5.1.1). As shown in the example below.

 

 

 

                                                                                                     rs: father

         father poss₁ bowl_a soup_a CL(closed G): ‘handle_spoon’ delicious

         ‘My father was eating a soup with a spoon and said that it was good.’

 

Another way to encode spatial relationships between referents is the frame of reference systems. These systems are distinguishable into two different types. The first one is the relative frame of reference and it describes spatial relationships between ground and figure by assuming the signer’s perspective. In this case, the signer places the entities in space assuming as reference point his perspective, as shown in the sentence below.

 

 

 

         tree CL(5): ‘be_at’_[right] house CL(spread curved open 5): ‘be_at’_[left]

         ‘The house is to the left of the tree’.

 

The second system is the absolute frame of reference, which is not based on the relative positions of the entities, but on conventional and absolute referring points, such as cardinal directions or real geographical locations. The following sentence shows this case.   

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                        wh

         dome milan CL(spread curved open 5): ‘be_at’ direction which direction o-v-e-s-t

         ‘The front of the dome of Milan is directed toward the West.’

 

It is likely that a relative frame of reference occurs together with an external perspective, namely the observer perspective. On the contrary, the absolute frame of reference is mostly found with a personal point of view, that is the character’s perspective.