A Grammar of Turkish Sign Language (TİD)

Topographic use of space renders signing space a small-sized model of entities and their spatial arrangements. When talking about static spatial interrelations of entities, the most typical construction is in the form of ground figure ground.figure. In this construction, first the ground is mentioned, and then it is followed by the figure. Finally, the figure is localized with a downward movement with respect to the ground. See below an example in this typical construction pattern:

 

h1: table bowl apple CL:'round_object'

h2:              round_obj.CL:'bowl'_______

‘There is a bowl (on the) table. The apple is in the bowl’

 

Another but less common construction type involves producing lexical signs followed by locative predicates that express the loci of entities with respect to each other.

           

 

 

h1: ship two CL:'general_entity'_a  CL:'general_entity'_b

h2: ship CL:'general_entity'_a_____________________

          ‘Two ships are side by side’

 

Describing locative relations may involve Size-and-Shape-Specifiers [Morphology - Section 5.2.] to express figure information but rarely. In other words, figure element can be expressed by a tracing outline of the entity:

           

 

 

wall_a paıntıng CL:'rectangular_object' rectangle_a

‘The painting is on the wall.’

 

As for on and next.to relations between entities, TİD uses simultaneous or sequential constructions with equal tendency. In other words, the entities might be expressed by each hand at the same time, or one after another with the same hand. Alternatively, the same sign can be repeated in different locations.

            Another aspect of on and next_to relations is that simultaneous constructions are more commonplace in next.to relations than on. In sequential constructions the two entities are localized in separate time slots with a repeating locative predicate in separate loci [Morphology - Chapter 4.1.]. In the example below a sequential construction is followed by a simultaneous localization of the four entities with the numeral four which incorporates a locative downward movement.

 

 

 

h1: ship_a ship_b ship_c four-loc

h2:                             ıx______

'There are four ships side by side.'

               (adapted from Perniss, Zwitserlood, & Özyürek 2011: 1595)

 

In simultaneous constructions the entities are represented at the same time with either a single hand (as in the example below) or two classifier handshapes [Morphology - Chapter 5]. Both unimanual and bimanual simultaneity are used with equal tendency when talking about next_to relations. See below an example sentence with bimanual simultaneity:

 

 

 

h1: apple CL:'round_object'_a

h2:            CL:'round_object'_b

‘Two apples are side by side.’

 

Besides classifier constructions, alternatively (or in addition to classifiers), relational lexemes are sometimes used to express relations such as next.to, on, under, in. The order in these constructions are typically in ground figure relational-lexeme format. See below an example with a relational lexeme:

 

 

 

h1: table telephone above_a

h2: table_a_______________

‘The telephone is on the table’

 

If there are two entities TİD may use certain classifier constructions [Morphology - Chapter 5] to differentiate lateral, sagittal, and diagonal configurations when describing static spatial relations and dynamic spatial events. See below signed descriptions of two apples in three axial configurations: lateral, diagonal, and sagittal:

 

 

 

          lateral

 

 

 

diagonal

 

 

saggital

 

 

Generally, the spatial layout in the real world is reflected faithfully in signing space as in the examples above. However, the orientation and location of entities might not directly reflect real arrangement of entities. For example, the orientation of the set of objects described may use different axes, namely frontal or lateral, in order to describe the same spatial arrangement. See below two sentences which denote the same spatial arrangement on lateral and sagittal axes. The first sentence is not faithful to the real-world layout in terms of location, and the second one in terms of orientation.

 

 

 

h1: car                         CL:'vehicle'

h2: car                         CL:'vehicle'                          

(adapted from Arık & Nadolske 2006a: 8)

 

       

  

 

 

 

h1: car CL:'vehicle'

h2: car CL:'vehicle'                          

(adapted from Arık & Nadolske 2006a: 9)

 

In static configurations of two animate-like entities with intrinsic frontness and backness (the front of an animal is its head), orientation information is always expressed. Whether location, axis, situation (static vs. dynamic) information is faithfully represented in sign depends on the axial and facing configuration of two entities in the real world. For example, more spatial information is likely to be represented in sign, if two entities face each other on the lateral axis than two entities facing opposite sides on sagittal axis. See below two examples respectively:

 

           

 

h1: horse                     CL:'eyes'

h2: horse                     CL:'eyes'

‘Two horses are facing each other (laterally)’

                                                                                            (adapted from Arık 2009: 87)

          

 

 

h1: horse                     CL:'eyes'

h2: horse                     CL:'eyes'

‘Two horses are facing opposite sides (sagitally)’

                                                                                             (adapted from Arık 2009: 87)

 

If two entities are very close to each other, then axial and facing features have no influence on signed representations. Different from static events, in dynamic events, that is, when one of two entities move, entities on sagittal axis elicit more spatial information in sign than entities on the lateral axis do.