A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

Quantifiers are lexical signs expressing different types of non-numerical quantities. In this section, we describe some of the quantifiers attested in LIS.

It is important to note that they co-occur with a noun, but some of them can also be used pronominally. For example, the sign all can modify the plural noun person++, as in (a), or function as pronoun, as in (b).

 

 

 

            a.         person++ all origin sicily

            ‘All the people come from Sicily.’

 

 

 

            b.         all origin sicily     

            ‘Everyone comes from Sicily.’

 

The universal quantifier selects all the entities referred to by the noun. In LIS, there are several signs that can be used with this function. For the sake of simplicity, we only show two of them: all(G) and all(5). Both are one-handed signs articulated in the neutral space. In all(G), the G handshape produces a circular movement on the horizontal plane. A variant form of this sign is almost identical except for the handshape (curved open 5 rather than G).

 

 

 

 

            all(G)

 

Quantifier all(G) is not usually spatialised, i.e. the movement component is quite fixed.

In all(5), the flat open 5 handshape closes while the hand moves on a linear path.

 

 

 

 

            all(5)

 

The sign all(5) can modify the direction of the path movement according to the position and arrangement of the referents associated with the quantified noun (along vertical, horizontal, and deictic axes).

While the handshape of all(5) cannot be modified, the quantifier all(G) is compatible with numeral incorporation. This means that the G handshape can be replaced by a cardinal handshape (from 2 to 5). To illustrate, cardinal two incorporated into all(G) is shown in (a). A very similar meaning is obtained with the pronoun ix_3a+3b(b), which is produced with the same handshape associated with a repeated linear movement on the horizontal plane.

 

 

 

            a.         all(G)^two  

            ‘The two of them’

 

 

 

            b.         ix_3a+3b 

            ‘Both of them’

 

Like all(G) and all(5), each applies to all the members of a set, and hence it is compatible with count nouns only. The peculiarity of each is its distributive reading: indeed, it selects the members of the set individually, rather than collectively. From an articulatory perspective, this sign is realised reduplicating cardinal one with extended thumb in several spatial locations on the horizontal plane (from left to right for a right-handed signer), which are associated to the different members of the set. Each reduplication is usually marked by a slight downward movement.

 

 

 

            each

 

Large quantities are usually indicated by quantifiers many and numerous, which are usually compatible with count nouns. Both are two-handed signs, but occasionally they can be articulated with the dominant hand only. many involves repeated closing and opening of flat closed 5 handshape displayed on the horizontal plane.

 

 

 

            many

 

In numerous, the fingers open one after the other while the hands move outward on the horizontal plane.

 

 

 

            numerous

           

The sign some selects an unspecified amount of entities and is compatible with count nouns. Two variant forms are quite widespread: some(F), a one-handed sign realised with F handshape and repeated forward movements (a), and some(G), a two-handed sign realised with G handshape and alternating movement on the vertical plane (b).

 

 

 

            a.         some(F)

 

 

 

            b.         some(G)

 

Small quantities are indicated by the quantifier few. This is a one-handed sign making the tip of the thumb come into contact with the tip of the flexed index finger. It is compatible both with count and mass nouns.

 

 

 

            few

 

Some quantifiers do not express absolute quantities, rather relative quantities, namely quantities in relation or in proportion to something else. We present here three quantifiers of this type: enough, too_many (or too_much), and most. The sign enough is used when the referents are as many as needed, required, or expected. This is a one-handed sign articulated with unspread 5 repeatedly moving toward the signer's chin.

 

 

 

            enough

 

The sign too_many is used when the referents are exceedingly more than needed, required, or expected. This is a two-handed sign: both hands have a curved open L handshape and move outward on the horizontal plane.

 

 

 

            too_many

 

Both enough and too_many are compatible with count and mass nouns. The sign most indicates the majority of a set of entities. It is a two-handed sign: both hands have a spread 5 handshape facing one another and the dominant hand moves away from the non-dominant one with an upward linear movement.

 

 

 

            most

 

A quantifier with a free choice meaning is any. This quantifier is used to express lack of restriction of amount. any is a two-handed sign realised with unspread 5 handshape. Both hands undergo repeated nodding (palm/back repeatedly) in mirror fashion.

 

 

 

            any

 

In LIS, we also find negative quantifiers, such as zero, nobody, bare, and empty. The sign zero is derived from the corresponding cardinal numeral (LEXICON 3.10.1.1). It is articulated with a F handshape moving forward in the signing space. This particular handshape is iconically related to the digit 0. zero can be produced with either one or two hands. It is compatible with both count and mass nouns and with both animate and inanimate referents.

 

 

 

            zero

 

The sign nobody occurs only with animate referents. It is a symmetric two-handed sign realised with G handshape and diverging linear path movement on the horizontal plane. nobody shows a particular distributional pattern, which is addressed in SYNTAX 1.5.1.2.1 and SYNTAX 4.4.2.

 

 

 

            nobody

 

The signs empty and bare usually indicate absence of something. empty is produced in the neutral space with flat closed hand and wrist rotation. It can be produced with either one or both hands.

 

 

 

            empty

 

The sign bare, on the other hand, is articulated with 3/5 handshape and linear movement.

 

 

 

            bare

 

While in the sign empty the movement component looks quite fixed, the sign bare can modify the direction of the movement according to the location in space in which the referent is absent. For example, to convey that there are no books in a wardrobe, the direction of the sign bare can specify whether this lack of books applies to a single shelf from left to right, as in (a), or to the whole wardrobe from top to bottom, as in (b).

 

 

 

            a.         wardrobe inside book bare_ipsi

            ‘In the wardrobe (from left to right) there are no books.’

 

 

 

            b.         wardrobe inside book bare_down

            ‘In the wardrobe (from top to bottom) there are no books.’

 

The quantity expressed by the quantifier can be modified through non-manuals (e.g. wide-open eyes, mouth-corners pulled downward, tensed lips, etc. For more details, see MORPHOLOGY 2.2.

Quantification can also be expressed by means of a particular classifier category, namely Size-And-Shape Specifiers (SASS) (MORPHOLOGY 5.2). This strategy is especially used with mass nouns, such as flour, honey, and salt.

 

               

            jam                                     SASS(5): ‘big_amount’

            ‘A considerable amount of jam’

 

For a discussion of the syntactic distribution of quantifiers within the nominal phrase see SYNTAX 4.4.