Abstract use of signing space may be based on syntactic, semantic and discourse motivations. The syntactic function is used when discourse referents are arbitrarily associated with a spatial location to identify the arguments of the verb. Discourse referents are assigned a particular location, which is movable, as it can be shifted without affecting the meaningful content of the sentence.
In a sentence like (a) below, the locus of the subject is established in the ipsilateral area a of signing space (that is, the same side of the dominant hand), while the locus of the object is established in the contralateral area b (that is, the same side of the non-dominant hand). The agreeing verb see then moves from the ipsilateral locus of the subject to the contralateral locus of the object. Importantly, these spatial locations are localised abstractly and without a motivated reason. This means that the subject could have been localised in the contralateral area b and the object in the ipsilateral area a without affecting the meaning of the sentence, as shown in the second example. From what is known so far, whether a spatial location is precisely established on the ipsilateral or on the contralateral part does not make any difference in the grammar of LSC.
a) joanaa mariab 3asee3b.
‘Joana saw Maria.’
b) joanab mariaa 3bsee3a.
‘Joana saw Maria.’
In LSC the main motivations forcing the localisation of a discourse referent on the two lateral areas of the horizontal plane are due to assimilation processes and economy reasons, which escape the grammatical restrictions of the language. However, when both the ipsilateral and the contralateral parts are used in the same fragment of discourse to localise two discourse referents, a contrastive relation arises. This is an overt marking of the expression of contrastive topics [PRAGMATICS 4]. That is, two clause discourses in which two discourse referents are introduced in each clause and their respective verbs predicate two different, contrasting actions. The opposed spatial locations, as shown in the examples below, distinguish the two discourse referents and are interpreted as contrastive topics.
a) Contralateral spatial location for referentx b) Ipsilateral spatial location for referenty
Such an example is shown below where the two discourse referents, ‘Francesc’ and ‘Joana’ are localised in the ipsilateral and the contralateral part, respectively. For each one a different predicate is expressed and the double contrast is overtly expressed with the establishment of the two spatial locations. Unless the discourse referent is reintroduced by the nominal, the association with spatial locations is kept throughout the discourse as long as there is no shift in the frame of reference.
re re
ix3[contra-down] mercè work together every-day 1see3[contra-down]. montserrat[ipsi-down] see once-in-a-while reason work other move-from-place.
‘As for Mercè, we work together and we see each other every day. But with Montserrat we only see each other once in a while because she works at a different work.’
As for the localisations on the frontal plane, different functions may be distinguished in the grammar of LSC discourse. High loci established on the frontal plane are used to refer to social hierarchical relations [PRAGMATICS 1.1.2]. The contrast between high and low loci is associated with asymmetrical relations such as parents-children, boss-worker, professor-student, etc. In such contexts, a spatial location established on the upper part of the frontal plane denotes the individual who is higher in the social hierarchy. For instance, definite noun phrases formed by common nouns such as ministry, government, boss, dean, father^mother and university are generally associated with the upper part of the frontal plane. Also name signs referring to someone higher in the social hierarchy are also associated with a high spatial location. This hierarchical use is an instance of social deixis.
Another abstract use of the frontal plane is that of locatives. Locative noun phrases refer to spatial locations, such as places, cities, regions and physical locations. In LSC they are usually accompanied with an index sign. This index sign tends to be localised on the upper frontal plane when denoting countries and bigger regions. Locative noun phrases are thus generally directed to an upper part of the frontal plane, both for singular (a) and for plural (b), as shown in the examples below. It is interesting to note that plural indexes functioning as locatives mark correlative points in space, rather than arc-shaped movements, which are characteristic of pronominal forms. In some contexts denoting areas within a small region or a city, the imaginary map can be extended on the horizontal plane too.
Locative signs directed towards the upper frontal plane:
a) Singular locative
b) Plural locative
When more than one locative is used in a discourse fragment, they are localised on the frontal plane, which is used as if it were a map, and the distance between the places and the location is considered to be at a certain scale on the plane. This use is reminiscent of the absolute localisation where real-world locations are transferred to signing space.
The frontal plane is also used when the signer wants to convey the specificity of the discourse referent [PRAGMATICS 1.4]. The reference of the same nominal localised on the upper and the lower frontal plane results in different interpretations, showing that specificity is overtly marked in LSC. When the spatial location is established on the lower part of the frontal plane, it overtly expresses a specific discourse referent, while a spatial location established on the upper part is circumscribed to non-specific discourse referents. While (a) refers to a specific referent, that is the sender has a particular group of friends in mind while uttering it, (b) refers to a non-specific, non-identifiable one, which means that neither the sender nor the addressee have a particular discourse referent in mind while uttering the sentence.
a) group[contra-down] friend some[contra-down] house inside hide during year-two.
‘Some of the friends were hidden there for two years.’
(recreated from Barberà , 2012: 263)
b) ix3pl[contra-up] some[contra-up] 1denounce3[contra-up] ix there-is.
‘Someone denounced they were there.’
(recreated from Barberà , 2012: 264)
Importantly, the non-specific use is distinguished from the hierarchical use presented previously, since only noun phrases which are interpreted as indefinite (i.e., not being part of the shared knowledge by the conversation participants) are marked for non-specificity. In contrast, when denoting hierarchical relations, definite noun phrases such as name signs, pronouns and definite descriptions are used to localise the corresponding entity. The difference between these two denotations is marked with non-manuals co-articulated in non-specific contexts [PRAGMATICS 1].
A final use of the frontal plane is the one that refers to absence of the discourse referent within the immediate physical context. This is especially notorious in LSC when the human discourse referent being talked about is not present in the conversation environment. Name signs, but also common nouns used to refer to someone who is not around, co-occur with an index sign pointing towards the upper part of the frontal plane. In the case of common nouns, the index sign co-occurring with the noun is not articulated with the characteristic non-manuals denoting indefiniteness. The lack of this non-manual articulation disambiguates the upper localisation denoting absence in the immediate physical context, rather than non-specificity.
a) Reference to absent discourse referent
(recreated from Barberà , 2012: 106)
b) Reference to present discourse referent
(recreated from Barberà , 2012: 104)
As shown so far, the uses of the upper part of the frontal plane in LSC split into four main functions. First, it is the area where hierarchical relations are distinguished. Second, it is the place where locative signs are mainly directed. Third, non-specificity marking is overtly expressed when discourse referents are established in this area. And fourth, non-presence in the immediate physical context, especially when denoting human individuals, is also marked with an index sign towards the upper part. Importantly, it has been shown that spatial locations established on the upper frontal plane may refer to four different meanings.