Impersonal reference consists of reference to human entities whose identity is not clear or whose degree of referentiality in the discourse is very low. LSC has different means to express impersonality, mainly through indefinite determiners and pronouns. However, there are other means aimed at encoding unknown human subjects. One of the most common strategies to express impersonal reference is by means of a non-overt marking, as shown below.
china area cat eat.
‘In China they eat cats.’
(recreated from Barberà & Costello, 2017: 53)
A lexical functional element that expresses indefiniteness and that uses signing space is a compound sign. This pronominal sign is formed by the interrogative wh-sign who concatenated with either the 3rd person plural pronominal form (a) or with the determiner some (b). In both cases, the order of the signs is irrelevant. Interestingly, the mouthing accompanying the two compound sign are always the Spanish word alguien ‘someone’, which has scope over the two signs. These pronouns refer to animate entities, namely human and animal discourse referents.
a) who^ix3pl[up]
b) who^some[up]
When the referent is a non-specific indefinite, the 3rd person plural pronoun or the determiner are associated with the upper part of the frontal plane. It is important to note that independently of the plural form of the pronoun, this functional element may refer both to a single and to a plural discourse referent.
who^ix3pl[ipsi-up] money 3steal3[ipsi-up].
‘Someone stole the money.’
(recreated from Barberà & Quer, 2013: 245)
Other pronominal forms are also used when denoting impersonal reference. For instance, the 3rd person plural pronoun alone may be used when referring to an impersonal argument. This pronominal form directed to the upper frontal plane is realised with an index finger and a circling movement. Besides pronominal index signs, localisation of impersonal reference in LSC can also be expressed with the sign that consists of a derived form of the lexical noun person. This sign is articulated with a Ehandshape and a vertical downward movement. It functions as a pronominal index, which can be also coreferentially used for the three person distinctions and which may have a singular or a plural form.
Plural form of the pronominal person sign
The determiner glossed as one directed to an upper location may function as a determiner co-occurring with a noun, but it may also function pronominally as exemplified below. The upper direction towards the frontal plane of this determiner is combined with particular non-manuals which play a role in the encoding of indefiniteness. oneu is co-articulated with a non-manual which consists in sucking the cheeks in and pulling the mouth ends down. This is sometimes combined with a shrug.
oneu moment hospital go, always think result worst.
‘When one is admitted to the hospital, always fears the worst results.’
(© De Gruyter Mouton 2013. Reprinted with permission from Barberà & Quer, 2013: 246).
Impersonal reference is also overtly marked with verb inflection [MORPHOLOGY 3.1]. Agreement verbs denote the impersonality of the subject argument when the manual verb is articulated towards certain spatial locations. With respect to agreement, different forms have been found, which we detail in what follows. The most noticeable marking found in the LSC data is the use of an axis going from a location established amidst the 1st and 3rd person to a location established amidst the 2nd and 3rd person location. This impersonal axis marks the lack of referential encoding of a discourse referent through locations established in signing space.
Verb insult with agreement in the impersonal axis
(recreated from Barberà & Quer, 2013: 248)
As already mentioned, agreement verbs may also localise the subject argument of the sentence in an upper location on the frontal plane. When the argument is established in this upper location the interpretation corresponds to a non-identifiable discourse referent. The instance illustrated below may be paraphrased as “someonenonspec explains me”.
3[up]explain1
(recreated from Barberà & Quer, 2013: 248)
Impersonal subjects are also realised in a neuter form. In such instances, verb inflection is not marked in signing space and no location is established. The verb tell is not inflected for the subject argument and it is realized as a neutral form. In some other cases, verb agreement is realised with a neutral articulation and neither the subject nor the object are localised in sign space. Thus, verbal inflection is neutrally realised for both arguments.
Verb punish in a neutral agreement form for subject and object.
Moreover, it is also possible to find a combination of different markings in the same sentence. The verb in the first clause shows agreement expressed with the impersonal axis. The verb in the second clause is realised as a neuter form.
if 1/3insult2/3, ignore3 leave.
‘If they insult you, you’d better ignore them.’
(recreated from Barberà & Quer, 2013: 249)
Finally, it should be added that a marking for plural indefinite noun phrases may be expressed with the bimanual form of the verb. As shown in the following example, the verb is articulated both with the dominant and the non-dominant hands denoting the plurality of the subject.
re
ix faculty 1understand3bim++.
‘In the faculty, no one understands me.’
(recreated from Barberà & Quer, 2013: 249)
In LSC, conditional contexts license the use of first person pronouns with an impersonal value. As shown in the example below, the first person pronoun does not have deictic reference but rather a low referential value with a quasi-universal meaning.
if/moment ix1 problem appear friend 3help1 nothing, better 1choose3 not.
‘When you have problems, if your friend does not help you, better not choose him/her as a friend.’
(© Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad 2017. Reprinted with permission from Barberà & Costello, 2017: 54)