A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD)

2.2.1. Diminutive and augmentative

Non-manual markers that express the meanings diminutive and augmentative are also the lexical non-manuals of the adjectives small and big, respectively.  When they are co-articulated with a manually signed noun, they add these meanings to it.

In other words, if the non-manuals of the lexical sign small, which are squinted eyes and furrowed eyebrows, are co-articulated with a noun, the result is a derived noun with a diminutive meaning, that is, ‘small x’. See the example small_ball below.

  small_ball 

 

If the non-manuals of the lexical sign big, which are widened eyes and raised eyebrows, are co-articulated with a noun, the result is a derived noun with an augmentative meaning, that is, ‘big x’.  See the example big-ball below.

  bıg_ball 

In these cases, the noun also undergoes a manual change: the signer signs it smaller or bigger. In the examples above, in addition to the different the non-manual markers, the sign ball is signed smaller in the diminutive example and bigger in the augmentative example. 

 

The augmentative non-manual markers, widened eyes and raised eyebrows, can also be accompanied by the mouth gesture ‘bzz’. Again, the manual sign is signed bigger, as shown with the sign big_cup in the example below.

 

   

 

 

bıg_cup

 

List of editors

Meltem Kelepir

Copyright info

© 2020 Kadir Gökgöz, Aslı Göksel, Demet Kayabaşı, Meltem Kelepir, Onur Keleş, Okan Kubus, Aslı Özkul, A. Sumru Özsoy, Burcu Saral, Hande Sevgi, Süleyman S. Taşçı

Bibliographical reference for citation

The entire grammar:
Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series). (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

A Chapter:
LastName, FirstName. 2020. Syntax: 3. Coordination and Subordination. In Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

A Section:
LastName, FirstName. 2020. Phonology: 1.1.1.2. Finger configuration. In Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

LastName, FirstName. 2020. Syntax: 3.1.2.1.3. Manual markers in disjunctive coordination. In Kelepir, Meltem (ed.). 2020. A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (https://thesignhub.eu/grammar/tid) (Accessed 31-10-2021)