A Grammar of German Sign Language (DGS)

1.2.3.3. Content interrogatives without wh-signs

In DGS it is also possible to have a wh-question without a wh-sign.

 

           wh

         time

         โ€˜What time is it?โ€™

 

 

 

 

Although there is no manual wh-sign present, the use of a mouthing that includes a wh-word is obligatory to accompany the signs in DGS (in this case /wie spรคt/). This is also true for the sign how_old, that manually looks identical to the sign old. In order to be understood as the question โ€˜How old are you?โ€™, the mouthing accompanying the sign has to be /wie alt/ โ€˜how oldโ€™ as shown in example below.

 

                           wh

         you how_old

         โ€˜How old are you?โ€™

 

List of editors

Sina Proske, Derya Nuhbalaoglu, Annika Herrmann, Jana Hosemann & Markus Steinbach

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Bibliographical reference for citation

The entire grammar:
Branchini, Chiara and Lara Mantovan (eds.). 2020. A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series). (http://sign-hub.eu/grammars/...) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

A Chapter:
Smith, Mary. 2020. Syntax: 3. Coordination and Subordination. In Branchini, Chiara and Lara Mantovan (eds.), A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. ((http://sign-hub.eu/grammars/...) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

A Section:
Smith, Mary. 2020. Phonology: 1.1.1.2. Finger configuration. In Mary, Smith, Ben Smith and Carlo Smith (eds.), A Grammar of Catalan Sign Language (LSC). 1st ed. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (http://sign-hub.eu/grammars/...) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

Smith, Mary. 2020. Syntax: 3.1.2.1.3. Manual markers in disjunctive coordination. In Mary, Smith, Ben Smith and Carlo Smith (eds.), A Grammar of Catalan Sign Language (LSC). 1st edn. (SIGN-HUB Sign Language Grammar Series), 230-237. (http://sign-hub.eu/grammars/...) (Accessed 31-10-2021)

europe-flagThis project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant Agreement No 693349.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike4.0 License.