Topics in the Grammar of Spanish Sign Language (LSE)

LSE personal pronouns express the number values singular, plural and dual. In singular forms, the pronoun is articulated with a straight movement, which is directed either towards the location of a present referent or towards the location within the signing space associated with a non-present referent. The specific forms the pointing sign adopts for the different person values (first, second and third person) are described in [section 3.7.2.1].

Plural marking, on the other hand, is achieved by modifying the movement of the singular form. Specifically, the so-called ‘collective’ plurals are marked by incorporating a circular movement to the pointing sign in order to signal that the pronoun refers to more than two entities.

First person collective plurals have two variants, one in which the index sign points upwards (as in picture (a) below), and a second one in which the index sign points downwards (as in picture (b) below).

a) First person plural pointing upwards           b) First person plural pointing downwards

Second and third person collective plural pronouns are marked by orienting the circular movement outwards. As in the case of their singular counterparts, second and third person plurals are distinguished in terms of the alignment of the hand with respect to head and the eye gaze. Specifically, second person plural pronouns are marked by aligning the direction of the eye gaze, the head and the movement traced by the pointing sign, as in pictures (a) below. In third person plural pronouns, on the other hand, the circular movement is oriented towards a different direction from that of the eye gaze and the head (e.g., the lateral space).

a) Second person plural pronouns                                                               b) Third person plural pronoun

If the context explicitly refers to a plurality of non-participants, a third person pronoun without plural morphology may be used (i.e., without circular movement). That is, a pointing sign articulated with a straight movement may be understood as referring to a plurality of referents. In the case of previously referred plural entities, it is sufficient for the pronoun to point at the same location associated with the collective referent in order to recover the plural meaning.

             ix₃ ix₂ like.

            'You like them.'

(Fernández Landaluce, 2016: 316)

Another strategy used in LSE to mark reference to more than one entity involves the use of the so-called ‘exhaustive’ forms, which are expressed by reduplicating the pointing sign at different locations within the signing space.

Dual number is expressed with a Y-handshape moving back and forth between the locations, whether real or assigned, of the intended referents. Differently from the case of singular forms, the palm of the hand is oriented upwards or towards the signer. Whenever reference to exactly two entities is made, the use of a collective plural form (index finger accompanied by a circular movement) is not available to pick up the two referents.

Third person dual pronoun (3+3)

Finally, number marking can also be expressed in LSE pronouns by incorporating a numeral into the pointing sign. The resulting forms, as in the case of plural marking, are articulated with a circular movement. Although the pronoun can mark up to ten referents, forms marking numbers higher than three or four are not common. Besides, numeral incorporation is not mandatory, as the same form can be expressed by using a plural pronoun followed by a number. Indeed, that is the only option available in case the number of referents exceeds ten, as shown in the example below. 

         ix₃pl twelve.

         ‘The twelve of them.’                                                                                          (Herrero, 2009: 231)