A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

LIS can convey a high degree on the semantic scale of adjectives through the combination of modifications of the adjectival sign with the articulation of dedicated non-manual markers. Specifically, the movement and articulation of the manual sign differ from the sign in its citation form in that: i) the movement can be slower and slightly hold at the beginning of the articulation; ii) the articulation can be enlarged or reduced. The dedicated non-manual markers are furrowed eyebrows (fe) and, though less often, wide-open eyes (we) or squinted eyes (sq). Usually these non-manual markers combine with the mouthing of the first syllable of the Italian word for the adjective: [fe] for felice (Eng. ‘happy’) in (d), and [ve] for vecchio (Eng. ‘old’) in (e), which spreads over the whole sign. However, some variability is found. We illustrate these strategies with the examples below.

 

 

 

                             fe

                                we

         a.            tall

         ‘Very tall’

 

 

 

                             fe

         b.            cold

         ‘Very cold’

 

 

 

                           fe

                               sq

         c.            far

         ‘Very far’

 

 

 

                                fe

                                  [fe]

         d.            happy

         ‘Very happy’

 

 

 

                                fe

                             [ve]

         e.            old

         ‘Very old’

 

Intensification of colour adjectives is slightly different in that it is conveyed through the non-manual marker wide-open eyes simultaneously articulated with the manual sign.

 

 

 

                              we

         a.            green

         ‘Bright green’ 

 

 

 

                          we

         b.            red

         ‘Bright red’