A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

LIS distinguishes between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses.

         Typically, restrictive relative clauses provide information which is crucial in identifying the referent head noun, which is non-specific, as in the sentence: ‘The woman who speaks French works in the Italian Embassy’. On the other hand, non-restrictive relative clauses provide additional information on an already specified referent, as in the sentence: ‘Laura, who speaks French, works in the Italian Embassy’.

         While in LIS restrictive relative clauses the head is inside the relative clause, in LIS non-restrictive relative clauses the head is always produced outside the relative clause. More precisely, the head immediately precedes the relative clause.

While LIS restrictive full relative clauses typically display the relativisation sign pe, non-restrictive relative clauses cannot. Moreover, non-restrictive relative clauses are not marked by the ‘rel’ non-manual markings described for restrictive relative clauses (SYNTAX 3.4.6.1). The non-manuals marking non-restrictive relative clauses are: an eye blink, head nod, and a signing pause at the beginning and end of the non-restrictive relative clause. The example below illustrates a non-restrictive relative clause in LIS.

 

 

 

                      hn                                                                   hn

                      eb                                                                   eb

         maria   [last^year medicine new find_out]    prize win  

         ‘Maria, who discovered a new medicine last year, won the prize.’ (recreated from Branchini, 2017)

 

As shown in the example above, the head noun maria precedes the time adverbial last^year. As time adverbs sit at the beginning of the clause, this shows that the head is external to the relative clause.

         Furthermore, while the head of a restrictive relative clause must be an indefinite noun, the head of a non-restrictive relative clause can be a definite referent: a proper name (a), a pronominal sign (b), a definite description (c).

 

                                        hn                                          hn                                

                                        eb                                          eb

         a.            maria   [city rome know not]    arrive late

         ‘Maria, who doesn’t know the city of Rome, arrives late.’

 

                                   hn                          hn                                 

                                   eb                          eb

         b.            ix₃    [spider fear]    house_a poss₁ countryside visit_a never

         ‘He, who is afraid of spiders, never visits my house in the countryside.’

 

                                                            hn                                        hn                                

                                                            eb                                         eb

         c.            boyfriend poss₃   [city rome know not]    arrive late

         ‘Her boyfriend, who doesn’t know the city of Rome, arrives late.’ (Branchini, 2014: 231)