1.2.3.2. List of wh-signs
The following signs are a subset of signs used to question different types of constituents. The signs for each function may vary depending on the region and the generation the signer belongs to. The examples below were elicited from a signer who was born and has lived in Istanbul.
The question signs cooccur with forward lean of the head, shoulders and the torso, raised or lowered or furrowed eyebrows, slight backward tilt of the head/chin and a very small, short head shake. what below is an underspecified question sign, that is, it can be used as a counterpart of what, how, and which.
what/how/which
where
how_many
when/how_long
why
Also, a special sign exists for the meaning ‘which grade’, which_grade. As the example below shows, this sign is articulated with the movement of how_many incorporated into the sign grade.
which_grade
The majority of the question signs, namely, where, why, how_many/much and when, are phonologically similar to the signs of the common nouns place, reason, number, and day respectively. For instance, place and where are both two-handed signs [Phonology – 1.4] and have the same handshape [Phonology – 1.1.1.]. Whereas place is articulated with a single downward movement and with no non-manual markers, where is articulated without downward movement but with a tremolo movement which can be either up-down or inward-downward and with headshake. A similar difference in movement is observed with the pair day and when. The difference between number and how_many/much, on the other hand, is only in the absence vs. presence of the non-manual markers. number is articulated with an opening of the hand and movement towards the contralateral side. Articulation of how_many/much additionally involves a single head-shake towards the ipsilateral side. Similarly, the only difference between reason and why is the non-manual markers. Finally, person and who share only the handshape.
person
who
place
where
reason
why
number
how_many/much
day
when
person
who
Complex wh-phrases such as ‘what color’ or ‘which book’ are formed with a common noun [Lexicon – 3.1.1.] and with the basic question sign what/which/how functioning as a wh-determiner. The common noun may precede or follow the question sign. See also [Syntax – 1.2.3.6.]. In the following, the complex wh-phrase is what brand with the wh-determiner what and the common noun brand.
wh
poss2 phone what brand
‘What brand is your phone?’
when is used only in the sense of ‘what day’ or ‘how many days/months/years’. When asking ‘what time?’, the question does not contain a question sign but only the manual sign time/hour and the wh-non-manual markers. See [Syntax – 1.2.3.3.]
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant Agreement No 693349.