3.1.2.1.1. Manual markers in conjoined coordination
In LSC, conjunction is mainly expressed using non-manual markers such as body lean and head tilt (see also [SYNTAX 3.1.3.1.1], but several manual markers can be used in combination with them as well.
One of the main manual markers present in conjunction are buoys [LEXICON 1.2.3], which are manly used to introduce a list of conjuncts that can be in the range between 2 and 5 or 10, depending on the preference of the signer. Due to their properties, they are referred to as list buoys. Each finger of the non-dominant hand corresponds to the position in the sequence on the list to which each conjunct is related. Until five, the signer touches the finger of the non-dominant hand before or after signing the conjunct linked to it. The listing does not need to be introduced by the total number of referents that are going to be presented. Moreover, list buoys do not necessarily express a temporal relation between the conjuncts. This can come from the context or from the use of the O-handshape instead of index B-handshape (the default one) and the non-manual marker puffing [PRAGMATICS 2.2.3]. These elements can be combined in different ways:
i) list buoys using the B-handshape on the dominant hand and straight movement to the fingers of the non-dominant one: no temporal order is implied;
list-buoys-B
re bl-left re bl-right
list-1-ixa marc cake cl: ‘bake’[contra] list-2-ixb marina pizza cl: ‘bake’[ipsi].
‘On the one hand, Marc baked a cake and on the other, Marina baked a pizza.’
(© Giorgia Zorzi 2018. Reprinted with permission from Zorzi, 2018b: 187)
ii) list buoys using the O-handshape on the dominant hand combined with obligatory puffing together with an arc movement to the fingers of the non-dominant hand: temporal order is implied;
list-buoys-O (puffing)
iii) list buoys using a B-handshape on the dominant hand combined with obligatory puffing together with an arc movement to the fingers of the non-dominant hand: temporal order is implied.
list-buoys-B (puffing)
The use of the O-handshape is related to the sign meaning ‘turn’ in LSC, which indicates that it is someone else’s turn. It is characterized by the use of the O-handshape and the movement in space to agree with the referent whose turn is next. It is also possible to use n-handshape even if O is more common. The choice among one of the three ways of signing list buoys depends, then, on the need of expressing temporal order of the events or not.
Another manual marker used for conjunction in LSC is the one that expresses the meaning of ‘both’, glossed as the-2 or both. It is mainly used to mark the accomplishment of two events in the conjuncts it refers to. This sign is realized in two different ways:
a) both: the Y-handshape is used on both hands; the non-dominant is oriented towards the body and the dominant one, facing down, touches the non-dominant one twice. It is also characterized by the mouthing /dos/ ‘two’ coarticulated with it;
both
/dos/
bl-left bl-right re
marina pizza eat ice-cream buy both.
‘Marina both ate pizza and bought ice-cream.’
(© Giorgia Zorzi 2018. Reprinted with permission from Zorzi, 2018b: 124)
b) the-2: the dominant hand with the Y-handshape facing up repeatedly moves from the ipsilateral to the contralateral side of the signing space in order to refer to the conjuncts previously introduced. It is also characterized by the mouthing /dos/‘two’.
the-2
hth hth
bl-left bl-right /dos/
marina pizza eat icecream buy the-2.
‘Marina both ate pizza and bought ice-cream.’
(© Giorgia Zorzi 2018. Reprinted with permission from Zorzi, 2018b: 124)
The marker the-2, compared to both, is more common. This might be due to the fact that the-2 is also used as a pronoun [LEXICON 3.7].
A third type of manual marker used is the sign plus, which is realized in two different ways but with the same meaning of ‘addition’. The two variants differ in handshape: y in one case and O in the other. The sign with y-handshape has a circular movement of the wrist from the vertical to the horizontal plane, as illustrated in (a), while the other one keeps the orientation towards the vertical plane but shows a circular movement upward, as shown in (b). The sign glossed as plus-O is an older version that is disappearing. Both signs have the mouthing /mas/ ‘plus’.
a)
plus-y
ht-left bl-right, ht-right
re /mas/ re
a’). marina pizza bake plus-y marc sandwich prepare.
‘Marina baked a pizza and Marc prepared a sandwich.’
(© Giorgia Zorzi 2018. Reprinted with permission from Zorzi, 2018b: 119)
b)
plus-O
ht-left bl-right, ht-right
re /mas/, re re
b’). marc pizza bake plus-o marina sandwich prepare.
‘Marina baked a pizza and Marc prepared a sandwich.’
Finally, another sign that is used in coordination is also. It is signed using the B-handshape and it has an internal downward movement of the wrist, with palm orientation changing from the front and to the body, as in the following example.
also
ht-right ht-left ht-right
shn shn shn
marc cake bake[contra] also marina pizza eat also ix2 sandwich prepare.
‘Marc baked a cake, and Marina ate a pizza and you prepared a sandwich.’
(© Giorgia Zorzi 2018. Reprinted with permission from Zorzi, 2018b: 117)
We can conclude that plus and also are the most productive manual markers realized in conjunction. These manual markers very often appear in combination with non-manual markers.