LSC contains an extensive paradigm of wh-signs with the following meanings: ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘which’, ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘how much/many’, ‘where’. See the following examples.
- who: this wh-sign is used just for people.
top wh
ix3 woman jacket black who
‘Who is that woman with the black jacket?’
- what:
wh
ix2 work what
‘What do you do?’
- why:
top wh
child ix3 play football no why
‘Why doesn’t this kid play football?’
- which:
wh
ix2 sport like most which
‘Which sport do you like the most?’
- how:
top wh
ix2 sibling_woman work find how
‘How did your sister find a job?’
- when: in this case, the sign is articulated differently if the time reference is related to the past or to the future. This time distinction is expressed by spatially modifying the sign towards the back of the dominant shoulder (past) and towards the front of signing space (future).
top wh
a) ix2 degree teacher lsc when.past
‘When did you get the professional degree of teacher of LSC?’
wh
b) ix2 birthday when.future
‘When is your birthday?’
- how-many/much: there are different signs depending on the referent that is intended.
top wh
a) ix2 house sleep_room how_many
‘How many rooms does your house have?’
top wh
b) orange one kilo how_much_cost
‘How much does a kilo of oranges cost?’
top wh
c) ix2p friends how_long
‘For how long have you been friends?’
top wh
d) town go need time how_much
‘How much is left to get to the town?’
- where:
top wh
library where
‘Where is the library?’
(recreated from Quer et al., 2005)
Wh-expressions in LSC can be simple or complex. Complex wh-expressions are formed by a wh-sign and a restrictor.
wh
cookie steal boy who
‘Which boy stole the cookie?’ [VIDEO WILL BE UPLOADED WHEN ALLOWED TO ACCESS THE UNIVERSITY]
(based on Alba, 2016: 104)