A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

In simultaneous compounds, two or more stems are expressed at the same time. This is possible because each hand can simultaneously produce a different stem. Simultaneous compounds involve several processes, such as phonological reduction (PHONOLOGY 3.1.3) and assimilation (PHONOLOGY 3.1.1), namely one of the two stems is not fully articulated.

         Simultaneous compounds expressed by two full stems have not been found in LIS (yet). Simultaneous compounds (as non-simultaneous ones) can be: i) semantically distinguished between endo- and exocentric category and ii) syntactically distinguished between subordinate and coordinate compounds.

         First, we focus on the semantic distinction between simultaneous endocentric and exocentric compounds. An example of endocentric simultaneous compound is the sign for ‘fax’.

 

            

         CL(unspread 5): ‘flat’(h1)^ CL(unspread 5): ‘cube’(h2)

         ‘Fax’ (recreated from Santoro, 2018: 63)

 

This compound is composed by a whole entity classifier expressed by the dominant hand (h1), which represents a paper. The movement associated to this classifier represents the action of sending a fax.  The non-dominant hand (h2) is a classifier representing the box containing the fax machine.

         Another example of endocentric simultaneous compound is the sign for ‘pencil case’.

 

             

         CL(closed G): ‘zip_open’(h1)^CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘case’(h2)

         ‘Pencil case’ (recreated from Santoro, 2018: 60)

 

The head of the compound is represented by the non-dominant hand (the case), while the dominant hand specifies an attribute (the zip). It is endocentric because its meaning is transparent and compositional.

         An example of simultaneous exocentric compound is the sign for ‘authorisation’.

 

             

         CL(closed 5): ‘stamp’(h1)^CL(unspread 5): ‘paper’(h2)

         ‘Authorisation’ (recreated from Santoro, 2018: 64)

 

The dominant hand is a handling classifier which represents the manipulation of a stamp. The non-dominant hand is a whole entity classifier which represents a paper. The literal meaning of ‘putting a stamp on a paper’ is shifted to the meaning ‘authorise’ or ‘authorisation’, which is not transparent anymore.

         Second, we focus on the syntactic distinction between simultaneous subordinate and coordinate compounds. An example of simultaneous subordinate compounds is the sign for ‘fork’. It is composed by two whole entity classifiers articulated at the same time.

 

             

         CL(V): ‘fork’(h1)^CL(5): ‘dish’(h2)

         ‘Fork’ (recreated from Santoro, 2018: 63)

 

The whole entity on the non-dominant hand refers to thin, hard object (it could be a dish). The whole entity on the dominant hand refers to the fork itself. It is a subordinate compound since the dominant hand acts as the head of the whole compound and the non-dominant hand represents the complement the fork is used on.

         Another example of simultaneous subordinate compound is the sign for ‘pencil sharpener’.

 

            

         CL(G): ‘pencil’(h1)^CL(flat open 3): ‘sharpener’(h2)

         ‘Pencil sharpener’ (based on Santoro, 2018: 177)

 

It is composed by two classifiers. The first one is a whole entity classifier that refers to a thin long object (pencil in this case). The second, on the non-dominant hand, is a whole entity classifier that refers to small and rectangular objects (the pencil sharpener itself). The head of the compound is the non-dominant hand, that represents the referent of the whole compound. The dominant hand represents the complement of the head, which is the object the pencil sharpener is used with.

         An example of simultaneous coordinate compound is the sign for ‘salami’, composed by two classifiers.

 

             

         CL(unspread 5): ‘slice’(h1)^CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘salami_hold’(h2)

         ‘Salami’ (recreated from Santoro, 2018: 61)

 

The dominant hand represents the concept of slice using a whole entity classifier, the non-dominant hand represents the concept of handling something using a handling classifier. The combination of the two members expresses the concept of ‘salami’.

         As previously mentioned, the members of a compound can be in an attributive relation. An example of an attributive simultaneous compound in LIS is the sign for ‘iPhone’:

 

             

         CL(3/5): ‘touch’(h1)^CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘iPhone_hold’(h2)

         ‘iPhone’ (based on Santoro, 2018: 178)

 

The compound ‘iPhone’ is composed of the handling classifier on the non-dominant hand, which represents how the iPhone is handled. The other member, expressed by the dominant hand, is a body part classifier which represents how we touch it. The head of the compound is the handling classifier on the non-dominant hand, because it refers to the object ‘iPhone’, while the body part classifier on the dominant hand is a modifier, since it explains how to use the object on the other hand.

         Another example of attributive simultaneous compound is the sign for ‘pencil case’.

 

             

         CL(closed G): ‘zip_open’(h1)^CL(unspread curved open 5): ‘case’(h2)

         ‘Pencil case’ (recreated from Santoro, 2018: 60)

 

Both members are handling classifiers. The head of compound is on the dominant hand which refers to the zip. The non-dominant hand shows how the object (the pencil case itself) is hold. An evidence that confirms that the head is on the dominant hand is that one can modify the form of pencil case, but the meaning of whole compound does not change, as it always refers to a pencil case.