It is well known that when Italian people communicate, they usually move their hands a lot: specifically, they produce co-speech gestures to add emphasis, express emotions, or clarify what they are saying. Gestures are used throughout the country, especially in the Southern regions. Due to the everyday interactions between hearing and deaf people, some of these gestures have become conventionalized in LIS to the point that they are systematically used by the signing community. For example, the Italian culture-specific gesture meaning ‘fear’ or ‘be afraid of’ is integrated in LIS lexicon as a sign.
It is well known that when Italian people communicate, they usually move their hands a lot: specifically, they produce co-speech gestures to add emphasis, express emotions, or clarify what they are saying. Gestures are used throughout the country, especially in the Southern regions. Due to the everyday interactions between hearing and deaf people, some of these gestures have become conventionalized in LIS to the point that they are systematically used by the signing community. For example, the Italian culture-specific gesture meaning ‘fear’ or ‘be afraid of’ is integrated in LIS lexicon as a sign.
fear
Signs derived from gestures can be considered borrowed forms and are thus part of the LIS non-native lexicon. Two distinct linguistic processes may be involved, depending on the function assumed by the borrowed form: lexicalisation and grammaticalisation. If the gesture undergoes lexicalisation, it enters the lexicon as a content item (i.e. lexical unit). On the other hand, if a gesture is grammaticalized, it is used to fulfil a grammatical function. These two processes are further explained and exemplified in LEXICON 2.3.1 and LEXICON 2.3.2.
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fear
Signs derived from gestures can be considered borrowed forms and are thus part of the LIS non-native lexicon. Two distinct linguistic processes may be involved, depending on the function assumed by the borrowed form: lexicalisation and grammaticalisation. If the gesture undergoes lexicalisation, it enters the lexicon as a content item (i.e. lexical unit). On the other hand, if a gesture is grammaticalized, it is used to fulfil a grammatical function. These two processes are further explained and exemplified in LEXICON 2.3.1 and LEXICON 2.3.2.