Universiteit Leiden

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Lecture

Causative-GIVE in LSF (French Sign Language): a case of cross-linguistically non-uniform grammaticalization  

Date
Thursday 21 November 2024
Time
Location
Arsenaal
Arsenaalstraat 1
2311 CT Leiden
Room
0.02

Abstract

Our work investigates GIVE-causatives in LSF. While the LSF GIVE-causative construction plausibly arose from contact with the French GIVE-causative constructions, we provide evidence that the LSF GIVE causative has a different syntax and allows a wider range of predicates than the French GIVE-causative.
In the same vein, while there are similarities between LSF lexical GIVE and LSF GIVE-causative - same labialisation [don] and beak-handshape - our study has shown that the two constructions contrast at least two ways, morphologically and syntactically.
Finally, in the data we have identified, the LSF GIVE-causative expresses causation in a different way to the iconic constructions/role shift. LSF GIVE-causatives only lexicalise the entity triggering the change of state (give) and the result of the change. Iconic constructions of caused change, on the other hand, express the process and the result by classifier and facial expressions.
In the light of these results, we can argue that the LSF GIVE-causative is probably an inspiration of the French GIVE-causative, but that the construction has been integrated with (i) its own grammatical profile, (ii) in a system of complementary constructions. 

NB! The language of the presentation is International Sign. If you need interpretation to another language, please contact v.a.s.nyst@hum.leidenuniv.nl to discuss the possibilities.

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