3.7.2. Personal pronouns
LSC personal pronouns use the index-finger handshape as the non-marked configuration. This index sign is directed either towards the physical location of present referents, or to a location in the signing space previously associated with a non-present referent. This means that when referring to non-present entities, the space in front of the signer is used for grammatical purposes.
today interview one woman person3[ipsi]. ix3[ipsi] knows english.
‘Today (I) have an interview with a woman. She knows English.’
(based on Barberà, 2012: 234)
In the example above, the sign person and the pronoun are both directed towards the ipsilateral side (ipsi) of the signer's body, that is, towards the side corresponding to the dominant hand of the signer.
The location component is very productive in LSC reference devices in general. In fact, lexical nouns can be spatially modified when articulated in different locations in the signing space.
Apart from pointing signs and spatially modified nouns, LSC allows the use of the sign person as a pronominal index, glossed as personpr [LEXICON 3.7.7]. It can be articulated with a E-handshape or with the bimanual x-configuration, which is used in emphatic contexts. The sign personpr is also used to mark politeness.
a) person with E-handshape
b) person3 with x-handshape
Pronominal person can refer to first, second and third person, but its use is restricted to human entities, as opposed to the index sign, that can be applied to all kind of referents. Additionally, the thumb configuration can also be used in LSC, but differently from the index handshape, is mostly used to mark anaphoric reference to a third person. Besides, the thumb handshape cannot be marked for plurality by incorporating a circular movement to signal that the pronoun refers to more than one entity [LEXICON 3.7.2.2].
Finally, LSC also uses a two-handed sign consisting in a pointing that makes contact with the palm of the other hand as a way of hiding the act of reference, as in the pictures below.
Differently from the third person index, this form is always deictic, as it is used to signal the position of the referent. If the intended referent is placed on the ipsilateral side, the signer must apply dominance reversal. As the sign also conveys the information that the speaker wants to hide his/her assertions from the referred person, its use is limited to refer to human non-participants. Specific non-manual markers accompany this form, specifically: raised eyebrows, short glance towards the location of the referent or to the hand and pulling the corners of the mouth down or, alternatively, stretching the lips.
Along with manual components, LSC personal pronouns can also incorporate non-manual elements, such as eye gaze, body leans, and head tilts. Thus, referents can be introduced and recovered in the discourse by pointing with the index sign, by directing the eye gaze towards the location associated with the entity or by a combination of both.
In the next subsections, we will examine the existing grammatical distinctions in the LSC pronominal system, namely person, number, clusivity, and honorific marking.