A Grammar of Catalan Sign Language (LSC)

3.9.2. Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are used to introduce embedded clauses or to conjoin main and embedded clauses. Similar to coordinating conjunctions, they can be expressed:

i) without any marker, like for the English ‘that’;

ii) with an optional lexical sign that can be omitted if non-manual markers can convey the same meaning (e.g. because, reason, fault, if, although, and happen(translated in English as ‘when/once’));

iii) through only a lexical sign or morpheme (e.g. to express the consequential then, the conjunction expressing a purpose for, the temporal until, before, after and the comparative constructions (equivalent to ‘than’)).

The general marker of subordination that corresponds to the English ‘that’ does not employ any marker, manual or non-manual, to be expressed, as in the example below.

re
anna_i₃say₁ ix₃_i fed-up lose+++.

‘Anna_itold me that she_iwas fed up with losing so often.’

(recreated from Quer, 2005a: 207)

Subordinating conjunctions that express the English ‘because/since’, ‘if’, ‘although’ and ‘when/once’, instead, can be conveyed through the use of an optional lexical sign that, if removed, does not affect the meaning of the sentence thanks to the combination of specific non-manual markers and the influence of pragmatics.

In order to express reason clauses, it is possible to use the sign because, represented in the video below. When it is used, it appears between the main clause and the subordinate that it introduces.

because

Context: I really wanted to go to the theatre.

theatre go impossible because train arrive late.

‘It was impossible to go to the theatre because the train arrived late.’

Another way of expressing reason clauses is through the use of the signs reason and fault. Both signs are represented in the videos below.

reason

fault

As for their position in the sentence, both reasonand fault introduce the subordinate clause. The context provided for the interpretation of the following examples is “I (the signer) really want to go to the theatre with a friend, but I got stocked on the train”.

a) theatre go impossible, fault train delay-get.

‘It was impossible to go to the theatre because the train arrived late.’

b) reason train delay-get, theatre go impossible.

‘Since the train was late, I did not go to the theatre.’

As shown in the examples below, subordinating conjunctions expressing cause may be omitted and thanks to raised eyebrows spreading over the sentence and the pragmatic relation between the two clauses, the meaning is not affected. If no specific non-manual markers are used, it is important that the subordinate clause appears in sentence initial position. The pragmatics given by the order of the clauses keeps the same meaning expressed when using the lexical signs.

a) theatre go impossible train delay-get.

‘It was impossible to go to the theatre (because) the train arrived late.’

b) train delay-get, theatre go impossible.

‘(Since) the train was late, I did not go to the theatre.’

The same optionality of the sign for the subordinating conjunction is found in conditional clauses [SYNTAX 3.5.1]. The sign if introduces the protasis and can be omitted thanks to the spreading of raised eyebrows and a forward movement of the body over the subordinate clause, as in the examples below.

re, bl-f

a) if lottery win association deaf money offer.

‘If I win the lottery, I will offer the money to the deaf association.’

re, bl-f

b) lottery win association deaf money offer.

‘If I win the lottery, I will offer the money to the deaf association.’

In concessive clauses, it is possible to use two different subordinating conjunctions, depending on the nuances of the meaning of the sentence. The sign although is used to give less importance to the content that follows it, while but highlights it. When no lexical sign is used, but there is contrast in the use of space, no bias for the content of one clause or the other is present. The context provided for the interpretation of the following examples is “There is a dessert contest. The jury doubts if Giorgia should win or not because…”.

a) although giorgia cake fruit burn, chocolate best that’s-it.

‘Although Giorgia burnt a fruit cake, she made the best chocolate cake.’

(Interpretation: bias towards Giorgia winning).

b) giorgia cake chocolate very-good but fruit cl(5): ‘fruit’+++ burn.

‘Giorgia made a very good cake, but she burnt a fruit cake.’

(Interpretation: bias towards Giorgia losing).

c) giorgia cake fruit cl(5): ‘fruit’+++ burn but chocolate cake very-good.

‘Giorgia burnt a fruit cake, but she made a very good chocolate cake.’

(Interpretation: bias towards Giorgia winning).

d) [giorgia cake chocolate very-good]_contra [fruit cl(5): ‘fruit’+++ burn]_ipsi.

‘Although Giorgia burnt a fruit cake, she made a very good chocolate cake.’

Another subordinating conjunction that can appear optionally in temporal clauses, it is the sign happen used to express the English ‘when’ and ‘once’ (coincidence in time and space).

happen

The position of happenand the non-manual markers used in combination with it make possible to distinguish the two meanings. When meaning ‘once’, happen appears right before the verb phrase in the temporal clause. It is very important to remark the fast forward movement of the body on the last sign of the subordinate clause. These non-manual markers are crucial to distinguish when happenmeans ‘once’ in contrast to ‘when’. The context provided for the interpretation of the following examples is “my sister really loves travelling and she wants to go visit Iceland; it’s easier to go around by car, though”. Thanks to the non-manual markers, the use of happen is optional, as shown below.

bl-f

a) ix₍_poss)1 sister happen drive-license cl: ‘get’, ix₃ go travel iceland.

‘Once my sister will get her drive license, she will go travel to Iceland.’

bl-f

b) ix₍_poss)1 sister drive-license cl: ‘get’, ix₃ go travel iceland.

‘Once my sister will get her drive license, she will go travel to Iceland.’

In the examples that follow, happen is used with the meaning of ‘when’. It is optional thanks to the non-manual markings and the influence of pragmatics. The context provided for the interpretation of the following examples is “I’m telling you about Jordi’s vacations…”.

a) happen jordi vacations go, sister ix₍_poss)3 swim improve.

‘When Jordi went on vacation, his sister improved swimming.’

b) jordi go vacations, sister poss₃ swim improve.

‘When Jordi went on vacation, his sister improved swimming.’

A third group of subordinating conjunctions can only be expressed through a lexical sign. It is the case of the consequential then, the conjunction expressing a purpose for and the temporal until, before, after. A representation and an example for each conjunction is presented below. then is expressed through a palm-up sign, but glossed as then because it has a specific meaning.

then

Context: the Deaf association is waiting money from the signer.

re, bl-f

lottery win then association deaf money offer.

‘If I win the lottery, then I will offer the money to the deaf association.’

for

re re, bl-b

jordi for motorbike buy, have-to summer time bar work hour+++.

‘In order to buy a motorcycle, Jordi will have to work many hours during the summer at the bar.’

until

today ix₁ stay until time class end. ix₁ leave.

‘Today I will stay until the end of the class. (Then) I will leave.’

The subordinating temporal conjunctions before and after, as in the examples below, do not introduce the content of the subordinate clause, but mark and introduce the chronological order with respect to the event in the main clause.

before

sq, bl-b
jordi theatre go before ticket buy.

‘Jordi bought the tickets before going to the theatre.’

after

re

ix₃jordi go theatre done, after food outside pizza group ix₃_pl friend.

‘After going to the theatre, Jordi had pizza outside with his friends.’

Another subordinating conjunction that cannot be expressed only by non-manual markers is the comparative element corresponding to the English ‘than’. In comparative clauses where the term of comparison is expressed through an adjective or a verb, the sign more-than is articulated in space with a directionality that goes from the referent with a higher degree to the one with less. In case of verbs that are body anchored such as love, it is also possible to use an auxiliary sign to indicate the directionality of the verb. When the mouthing /mas/ is coarticulated with the auxiliary, a comparative meaning is encoded. If the mouthing is absent, the verb simply expresses that one referent, in the example below jordi, is in love with the other one, but not vice versa. The comparative conjunction is, then, expressed through a morpheme that realizes itself in the directionality of the sign more-than for adjectives and verbs or in the auxiliary, in combination with the mouthing /mas/.