A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

Multiple-letter signs are conventionalized signs derived from fingerspelling in which more than one letter is reproduced. In this category, in LIS, we usually observe two-letter signs.

            An example is the sign LIS itself. It was originally realised as a full fingerspelled form of the acronym (L-I-S), as in (a), but over the years it has changed to a two-letter sign including only the first and the last letters (L-S), as in (b).

 

 

 

            a.         LIS (old sign)

 

 

 

            b.         LIS (new sign)

 

There is also a case of multiple-letter sign realised with the old manual alphabet (LEXICON 2.2.2), that is the sign for the Sicilian city Enna. It combines the first and second letters: old handshape E and old handshape N (which is identical to the N handshape of the new manual alphabet).

 

 

 

            enna

 

Multiple-letter signs are also used for multiword expressions. In the examples below, we show two-letter signs derived from non-Italian expressions: bed and breakfast and curriculum vitae. 

 

 

 

            a.         bed_and_breakfast

 

 

 

            b.         curriculum_vitae

 

In both cases, the selected handshapes refer to the first letter of each relevant word: B-B for Bed and Breakfast and C-V for Curriculum Vitae.

            Most of the multiple-letter signs in LIS display the handshapes in a sequential way. However, in some very rare cases, handshapes can be produced simultaneously. For example, the sign yes (Ita. sì) is realised with handshape Y, which combines the two handshapes included in the Italian equivalent: S (extended thumb) and I (extended pinky).

 

 

 

            yes

 

Certain fingerspelled signs may undergo a process of phonological reduction. This phenomenon can be observed in the toponym used to refer to the Italian city Lecce, which is a two-letter sign composed by L followed by bent L. The latter handshape looks as a reduced version of handshape E (the second letter of the corresponding word), which is conventionally articulated by bending all fingers.

 

 

 

            lecce