3.7.2.1. Person
LSE personal pronouns encode the distinction between different discourse roles. That is, differences in the articulation of the pointing sign are used to mark first, second and third person. Such differences are associated, in turn, with different interpretations, namely reference to the speaker, to the addressee and to a non-participant in the conversation. The person markers used in LSE personal pronouns are described below.
In the singular, first person is formally marked by directing the pointing sign towards the center of the speaker’s torso. In spontaneous discourse, the pronoun may be directed to one of the sides of the chest, the shoulder or the throat. Pointing towards the signer is associated with reference to the speaker.
First person singular pronoun
Different to the case of first person, the specific location towards the sign is directed to does not differentiate by itself second from third person pronouns. In order to mark second and third person (i.e., reference to the addressee vs. reference to a non-participant in the conversation) we must consider the direction of the index sign with respect to other articulators, namely the eye gaze and the head.
In second person singular pronouns, the direction of the pointing sign is aligned with the direction taken by the signer’s head and eye gaze. That is, in order to mark second person, the signer matches up the direction of all three articulators. This way of signaling second person applies both when referring to the actual interlocutor of the conversation and to the reported addressee in role shift constructions.
Second person singular pronoun
Third person is marked by orienting the pointing sign towards a different direction from that of the eye gaze and the head. The pointing sign may be directed either to the location of a present referent, or to the location within the signing space associated with a non-present referent in the previous discourse.
Third person singular pronoun
The same markers described for singular pronouns are also found in dual and plural forms. Specifically, first person is marked by pointing towards the signer (or upwards in the case of collective plurals); second person is marked by aligning the movement traced by sign with the direction taken by the head and the eye gaze; while in third person the direction of the hand is different from that of the head and the eye gaze.