A Grammar of Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT)

The smallest prosodic constituent above the syllable is the prosodic word. A prosodic word contains at least one stressed syllable, and there is no one-to-one relationship between prosodic units and morphological units. Thus, a prosodic word (PW) can consist of single signs, as in Example 2.a, but also of combinations of a lexical sign with a light grammatical element such as a pointing sign, as in Example 2.b, where assimilation occurs (explained below):

 

2.a          [woman]_PW [eat]_PW

                ‘The woman eats.’

2.b          [ix₁ sign]_PW

                ‘I sign.’ (see Figure 2.49 below)

 

As is the case with syllables (see PHONOLOGY 2.1.1), prosodic words are subject to certain constraints: there is a maximum of one phonological specification per parameter per prosodic word. Given this constraint, characteristic phonological changes may be observed when two signs are combined in a prosodic word. In other words, signs may assimilate to each other so that their parameters are more alike, and the constraint is no longer (or less) violated. These processes are described in more detail in PHONOLOGY 3.3, but it is necessary to mention them here as well to provide a clear picture of possibilities within prosodic words in NGT. Example 2.b, for instance, shows a case of cliticization: a functional sign – usually an indexical sign, as in this example – cliticizes to a lexical item (sign), so that together they form one prosodic word. The lexical sign, however, does not have the same handshape as the indexical sign, and this is where handshape assimilation comes in. The signs melt together because the indexical sign assimilates the handshape of sign, i.e., its handshape changes from B to >, as can be seen in the left still in Figure 2.49.

 

 

Figure 2.49. A case of regressive handshape assimilation within a prosodic word: the pointing sign assimilates the handshape of the adjacent lexical sign sign.

 

 

Handshape assimilation is thus a manual marker of cliticization and can signal a prosodic word. Another manual marker is movement reduction, i.e., fusing the lexical movements of two signs intoone continuous movement. Handshape assimilation and movement reduction can also co-occur. A clear non-manual marker for prosodic words is the spreading of mouthings, although cliticization is never marked by spreading of mouthings alone. In Example 3 from the Corpus NGT, the indexical sign following the sign butcher melts together with butcher through progressive handshape assimilation (from the 2-handshape via C to the B-handshape), and we observe one continuous movement. In addition, the mouthing slager (‘butcher’) spreads over the two signs. Thus, this is an example of a functional element – the index-sign – cliticizing to the lexical element butcher, forming one prosodic word. 

 

                                               slager

3.            see    butcher index

                ‘(I) see a butcher.’ (CNGT0093, S01, 00:06.540-00:07.890)

 

Another type of cliticization, characterized by different manual markers, is coalescence. In this case, the sign to which the indexical sign attaches is always a symmetrical two-handed sign. Both hands start to articulate the lexical host sign, but the dominant hand does not complete the movement but rather produces the indexical sign while the non-dominant hand completes the movement of the host sign. Consequently, the two signs form one prosodic word. Additionally, the mouthing of the host sign may spread, but there are no other non-manual markers associated with this phenomenon. An example of coalescence is given in Figure 2.50: the two-handed sign handicapped is usually produced with a repeated alternating movement. In the below example, however, this movement is not fully articulated by the dominant (right) hand. Instead, the dominant hand produces an indexical sign, while the non-dominant hand still completes the movement of handicapped. The mouthing gehandicapt (‘handicapped’) spreads over the entire prosodic word.

Besides a combination of a lexical and grammatical sign, two lexical items can also be combined into one prosodic word, provided that there are manual reductions. Clear examples are lexicalized compounds, such as the sign father^mother ‘parents’ (see also MORPHOLOGY 1.1). This compound consists of two phonologically reduced signs and is accompanied by one mouthing ouders (‘parents’). Thus, it constitutes one prosodic word (see also PHONOLOGY 3.3.2). However, there are also cases of two lexical items that do not seem to undergo any manual changes but are still accompanied by one mouthing. We follow the suggestion that the resulting unit might then be a phonological phrase (see the next section).

             

 

Figure 2.50. Coalescence involving the lexical host sign handicapped and an indexical sign (CNGT0055, S05, 00:07.950-00:08.390).

 

 

As mentioned above, prosodic words need to have a least one stressed syllable. Which syllable receives stress is obvious for monosyllabic signs, but when it comes to polysyllabic signs, the pattern depends on the type of polysyllabic sign. Researchers found that there are two types of polysyllabic signs in NGT, which show different strategies of emphasis. The first type consists of signs in which the first movement is repeated once or multiple times, such as the sign for rain (Figure 2.51). In this type, the first syllable is considered most prominent: it is articulated more strongly and sharply. It may further be accompanied by an emphatic head nod. Every syllable following the first will be articulated somewhat less pronounced than the previous one, i.e., there is a “fading out” effect.

 

Figure 2.51. The polysyllabic sign rain (Crasborn et al. 2020, symbols added).

 

The second type relates to signs in which the second movement is different from the first. Typically, the second movement goes into the opposite direction or has a perpendicular direction, as is true for the sign pope (Figure 2.52). In these cases, it is the second syllable that receives emphatic stress, for example through a head nod. Concerning polymorphemic signs such as compounds, the researchers found that they tend to pattern with this second type. Thus, in the compound father^mother (‘parents’), also mentioned above, the second syllable will receive emphasis.

                                                                                                                             

pope (first syllable)	pope (second syllable)

 

Figure 2.52. The polysyllabic sign pope.