A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

Coordinating conjunctions paratactically join signs and main clauses. LIS has two strategies to conjoin signs and clauses: i) through the use of coordinating conjunctions and ii) through non-manual markings and the use of signing space. In this section, both strategies will be described. The equivalent of the English coordinating conjunction ‘and’ in LIS is the manual item glossed plus.

 

            

            plus

 

In the example below, the signs pasta and cake are conjoined through the manual sign plus.

 

 

 

            maria pasta plus cake prepare

            ‘Maria prepares pasta and a cake.’    

 

The marker used in (adversative) coordination is the sign but.

 

            

            but

 

In the following example, the sign but conjoins two clauses.

 

 

 

            ix₂ decision poss₂ ix₁ accept but reason ₂explain₁ must

            ‘I accept your decision, but you must explain me the reason.’

 

The sign glossed or is commonly used to connect signs and clauses in disjunctive coordination.

 

            

            or

 

In the examples below, two signs are connected through the sign or. The manual sign or can be produced between the two conjuncts (a), at the end of the two conjuncts (b), or before each conjunct (c).

 

 

 

 

            a.         ix₂ toy CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘move_toy’ or videogame choose

            ‘Choose a toy car or a videogame.’

 

 

 

            b.         laura matteo paolo or++ invite

            ‘Laura invites Matteo or Paolo.’

 

 

 

            c.         son poss₁ or car CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘move_toy’ or toy videogame choose must

            ‘My son has to choose a toy car or a videogame.’

 

Alternatively, coordination of constituents and clauses in LIS can also be carried out through juxtaposition of coordinated signs and clauses without the use of manual conjunctions. Very often, non-manual markings such as a change in body and head posture, rhythmic pauses, oral components, eye blink and raised eyebrows are the only means used in coordination.

In the following example, the signs salad and pasta are conjoined within the clause only through prosodic means: a change in body lean (bl-left, bl-right) during the production of the two conjoined signs that are produced in different locations of the signing space, a signing pause and eye blink occurring between the two conjoined signs, and a head nod (hn) produced after each conjoined sign is realised.

 

 

 

                           bl-right     bl-left

                                   hn           hn

            maria salad_a pasta_b prepare

            ‘Maria prepares salad and pasta.’

 

In the example below, two clauses are conjoined without the manual marker but, solely through the following prosodic means occurring between the two clauses: a pause in the signing stream, backward head tilt (ht-b), and raised eyebrows (re).

 

 

 

                                                                   re

                                                     ht-b

            l-u-c-a_a ix_3a party go dance like not

            ‘Luca goes to the party, but he doesn’t like to dance.’          

 

The following example shows the possibility of connecting two signs without the manual conjunction or. Coordinating conjunctions are produced non-manually: the conjoined signs matteo and paolo are produced in two different locations within the signing space (signalled in the glosses by different indexes), following their production, a slight backward head tilt (ht-b) and small head shakes (hs) between the two referential locations are produced.

 

 

 

                                                                     ht-b

                    top                                                hs

            laura matteo paolo palm_up invite must

            ‘As for Laura, she must invite Matteo or Paolo.’

 

Summing up, LIS displays manual signs of conjunction to paratactically conjoin signs and clauses, but it can also do so only through the use of non-manual markings. For more information on coordination at the clausal level, see SYNTAX 3.1.