4.1.3. Contrastive focus
In general, contrastive focus instances in LSC may also appear at the end of the sentence (as new information focus), as illustrated in the example below. However, for the expression of contrastive focus some specific non-manual markers (body leans and head movements) and the use of the opposite sides of the signing space are added to express the contrast between the elements [PRAGMATICS 4.3.1].
What do you like more: skiing or snowboarding?
left sp
ht,bl-left
like more [ski]F
‘I like more SKIING’
In some narrow contrastive focus instances the focused item may be placed at the beginning of the sentence, as well, as illustrated below. In this case, the focused element is additionally marked with raised eyebrows.
What do you like more: skiing or snowboarding?
left sp
ht,bl-left
re
[ski]F like more
‘SKIING I like more.’
Moreover, in LSC the two manual articulators (dominant and non-dominant hand) can be used in order to express contrast. Also, both sides of the signing space can be used to localize two entities, which are contrasted [PRAGMATICS 8.1].
dh: [candy]T [giorgia person ix3]Ta [list(z)]Fa---------------------------------
ndh: [raquel person ix3]T-b[list(v)]Fb
‘As for candies, Giorgia has three (candies), and Raquel has four (candies).
The strategies used to express contrast mentioned in this section are also found in the expression of contrastive topics [PRAGMATICS 4.3.2].