A Grammar of German Sign Language (DGS)

Pronouns [Lexicon 3.7] are one of the most frequent devices for identifying referents in DGS. These constitute an inventory containing locative and demonstrative pronouns [Lexicon 3.7.1], personal pronouns [Lexicon 3.7.2], possessive pronouns [Lexicon 3.7.3], reflexive pronouns [Lexicon 3.7.4], interrogative pronouns [Lexicon 3.7.5], relative pronouns [Lexicon  3.7.6] as well as indefinite pronouns [Lexicon 3.7.7].

Locative, demonstrative, personal, reflexive pronouns share the same H-handshape. Relative pronouns as well have H -handshape, but only in cases when they refer to inanimate entities. However, orientation, movement, mouth gestures or mouthings co-occurring with this handshape may differ according to the pronoun’s function. For instance, a demonstrative pronoun has an abrupt ending of the movement and occurs with a specific mouth gesture which is different from other pronominal forms [Lexicon 3.7.1]. Pronominal expressions sharing a pointing handshape can further be differentiated in context.

In addition to the pronominal items which share a H -handshape, DGS contains pronominal items with language-specific handshapes. Possessive pronouns have a w-handshape, indefinite pronouns appear in language-specific forms (e.g. someone), interrogative pronouns have the shape of wh-particles (e.g. who, when, how), and relative pronouns referring to human referents share B-handshape with the entity classifiers in DGS.

To understand the meaning of a pronoun, it is important to identify its referent or antecedent correctly. DGS typically introduces new referents into discourse by associating them overtly or covertly to areas called referential loci (R-loci) in the signing space [Morphology 4.2]. Pronouns then refer back to these referents by pointing at their R-loci.

Overt pronouns in DGS are usually used to identify each referent when multiple referents appear in the discourse. In cases where two referents are introduced, they are spatially distributed in a particular way. Right-handed signers tend to associate the referent mentioned first (girl in the example below) with their right (ipsilateral) side and the referent introduced second (boy) with their left (contralateral) side [Pragmatics 8.1.1]. The DGS example below illustrates how two referents are first set up in contrastive areas on the right and left side of the signing space and then referred back to by corresponding pronouns.

            two person person. ix_a girl ix_b boy. ix_a like volleyball_play.

            ix_b like football_play.

            ‘There are two people. A girl and a boy. She likes to play volleyball. He likes to play football.

(recreated from Papaspyrou et al., 2008: 138)


 

In case the referent of an utterance can easily be retrieved from the context, pronouns do not have to be realized. A DGS example illustrating this case is given below, in which the referent (girl) remains the same throughout the short context, hence is not referred back via an overt pronoun in the second sentence.

            girl ix_a. five years_old. in_there_a kindergarten doll play.

            ‘There is a girl. (She) is five years old. (She) plays with the doll in the Kindergarten.

(recreated from Papaspyrou et al., 2008: 138)