4.1.1. Manual marking
As mentioned before, reduplication is one of the strategies that LSC employs in order to express plural number in nouns. Two different types of reduplication are used for this purpose: sequential and simultaneous.
Sequential reduplication takes place when the noun is repeated in a sequential way in order to express plurality. This type of reduplication can be either simple or sidewards. Simple reduplication is realized by repeating the noun sign without any displacement of the sign, as shown in the example below.
ix1 want book three read.
‘I want to read three books.’
By contrast, in sidewards reduplication, the sign is repeated with a displacement from the contralateral to the ipsilateral side of signing space along the horizontal plane. The sign is repeated three times, although this does not mean that the signer is referring to exactly three elements. In this type of reduplication the first sign articulated retains its movement but the repeated instances are reduced and articulated faster than the first one.
a) ix1 enroll programme ix subject+++ different+++ twelve.
‘I enrolled in a 12 subject programme.’
b) ix catalonia use language+++ two-hundred more.
‘More than 200 languages are spoken in Catalonia.’
c) year_last interpreter language sign catalan service+++ two_thousand_four_hundred.
‘Last year LSC interpreters carried out 2,400 services.’
(examples a-c recreated from Quer et al., 2005)
There are some cases in which LSC uses simultaneous reduplication for the expression of plural. Simultaneous reduplication can also be either simple or sidewards, and the movement may be symmetrical or alternating. This type of reduplication is mainly used to indicate the plural in classifiers. In this case, the non-dominant hand is also involved and the space distribution of the repetitions is not limited to the horizontal plane.
a) dh: cinema in_front_of motorbike a_lot cl(i): ‘motorbike’+++
ndh: cl(i): ‘motorbike’
‘There were many motorbikes parked one next to another in front of the cinema.’
b) dh: zone street motorbike cl: ‘motorbike’ cl(i): ‘motorbike’
ndh: cl(i): ‘motorbike cl(i): ‘motorbike’
‘There are motorbikes parked all along the street.’
c) dh: tablecloth dirty cl(O): ‘stain’ cl(O): ‘stain’
ndh: cl(O): ‘stain’ cl(O): ‘stain’
‘The tablecloth is dirty with stains.’
d) dh: water_river next_to wood sticks a_lot cl(B): ‘stick’ cl(B): ‘stick’ cl(B): ‘stick’ cl(B): ‘stick’
ndh: cl(B): ‘stick’ cl(B): ‘stick’ cl(B): ‘stick’ cl(B): ‘stick’
‘There is a whole load of sticks next to the river.’
e) ix1 house window all cl(1): ‘to close a window’++ already.
‘I closed all the windows of the house.’
f) if ix1 cl(F): ‘drill’+++ hole+++ already ix3 cl(C): ‘to hang a picture’+++.
‘Once I bore the holes with the drill you can hang the pictures.’
(examples a-f recreated from Quer et al., 2005)
In LSC there are some phonological factors that may block the application of reduplication, such as body-anchoredness. Thus, not all nominal signs can express plurality by means of reduplication. The following example is applying a manually zero-marking strategy since the body-anchored sign glasses does not allow for a reduplication strategy.
*glasses+++
‘I am wearing many pairs of glasses’.
However, it is important to notice that some of these noun signs that block reduplication can admit it by means of classifiers and/or the verb, as illustrated in the examples below.
a) glasses cl(L): ‘glasses on the table’+++.
‘I put many pairs of glasses on the table.’
b) glasses cl(L): ‘I put my glasses on’+++.
‘I wear different glasses.’
(recreated from Quer et al., 2005)
Certain types of movement may also block the application of reduplication. That is the case in the sign car.
a) car
b) bicycle