Classifier constructions in sign languages


In sign languages, classifier constructions, also known as classifier predicates, are a morphological system expressing events and states. They use handshape classifiers to represent movement, location, and shape. Classifiers differ from signs in their morphology, namely in that signs consist of a single morpheme. Signs are composed of three meaningless phonological features: handshape, location, and movement. Classifiers, on the other hand, consist of many morphemes. Specifically, the handshape, location, and movement are all meaningful on their own. The handshape represents an entity and the hand's movement iconically represents the movement of that entity. The relative location of multiple entities can be represented iconically in two-handed constructions.
Classifiers share some limited similarities with the gestures of hearing non-signers. Those who do not know the sign language can often guess the meaning of these constructions. This is because they are often iconic. It has also been found that many unrelated sign languages use similar handshapes for specific entities. Children master these constructions by the age of eight or nine. Two-handed classifier constructions have a figure-ground relationship. Specifically, the first classifier represents the background whereas the second one represents the entity in focus. The right hemisphere of the brain is involved in using classifiers. They may also be used creatively for storytelling and poetic purposes.
Nancy Frishberg coined the word "classifier" in this context in her 1975 paper on American Sign Language. Various connections have been made to classifiers in spoken languages. Linguists have since debated how best to analyze these constructions. Analyses differ in how much they rely on morphology to explain them. Some have questioned their linguistic status, as well as the very use of the term "classifier". Not much is known about their syntax or phonology.

Description

In classifier constructions, the handshape is the classifier representing an entity, such as a horse. The signer can represent its movement and/or speed in an iconic fashion. This means that the meaning of the movement can be guessed by its form. A horse jumping over a fence may be represented by having the stationary hand be the fence and the moving hand be the horse. However, not all combinations of handshape and movement are possible. Classifier constructions act as verbs.
The handshape, movement and relative location in these constructions are meaningful on their own. This is in contrast to two-handed lexical signs, in which the two hands do not contribute to the meaning of the sign on their own. The handshapes in a two-handed classifier construction are signed in a specific order if they represent an entity's location. The first sign usually represents the unmoving ground. The second sign represents the smaller figure in focus. While the handshape is usually determined by the visual aspects of the entity in question, there are other factors. The way in which the doer interacts with the entity or the entity's movement can also affect the handshape choice. Classifiers also often co-occur with verbs. Not much is known yet about their syntax or phonology.
Classifier constructions are produced from the perspective of the signer. This means that the addressee must mentally flip the construction horizontally to understand it correctly. For example, if the addressee sees the signer place an object on the right side from the addressee's perspective, it means that they must mentally flip the construction to understand that it was placed on the left side. Native signers seem to be able to do this automatically.
Two-handed lexical signs are limited in form by two constraints. The Dominance Condition states that the non-dominant hand cannot move and that its handshape comes from a restricted set. The Symmetry Condition states that both hands must have the same handshape, movement and orientation. Classifier constructions, on the other hand, can break both of these restrictions. This further exemplifies the difference in phonology and morphology between lexical signs and classifiers.
Unlike spoken language, sign languages have two articulators that can move independently. The more active hand is termed the dominant hand whereas the less active hand is non-dominant. The active hand is the same as the signer's dominant hand, although it is possible to switch the hands' role. The two hands allow signers to represent two entities at the same time, although with some limitations. For example, a woman walking past a zigzagging car cannot be signed at the same time. This is because two simultaneous constructions cannot have differing movements; one would have to sign them sequentially.

Argument structure

Classifiers constructions may show agreement with various arguments in its domain. In the example below, the handshape agrees with the direct object, using a "thin object" handshape for flowers and a "round object" handshape for apples. Agreement between subject and indirect object is marked with a path movement from the former to the latter. This manner of marking agreement is shared with some lexical signs.
There are also correlations in American Sign Language between specific types of classifier constructions and the kind of argument structure they have:
  1. Predicates with a handling classifier are transitive
  2. Predicates with a whole entity classifier are intransitive unaccusative
  3. Predicates with a body part classifier are intransitive unergative

    Classification

There have been many attempts at classifying the types of classifiers. The number of proposed types have ranged from two to seven. Overlap in terminology across the classifications systems can cause confusion. In 1993, Engberg-Pedersen grouped the handshapes used in classifier constructions in four categories:
  • Whole entity classifiers: The handshape represents an object. It can also represent a non-physical concept, such as culture. The same object may be represented by multiple handshapes to focus on different aspects of the concept. For example, a CD may be represented by a flat palm or by a rounded C-hand.
  • Extension and surface classifiers: The handshape represents the depth or width of an entity. For example, a thin wire, a narrow board or the wide surface of a car's roof. These are not always considered to be classifiers in more recent analyses.
  • Handling/instrument classifiers: The handshape represents the hands handling an entity or instrument, such as a knife. They resemble whole entity classifiers, but they semantically imply an agent handling the entity. Just as with whole entity classifiers, the entity in handling classifiers does not have to be a physical object.
  • Limb classifiers: The handshape represents limbs such as legs, feet or paws. Unlike other classifier types, these cannot be combined with motion or location morphemes.
The handshape's movement is grouped similarly:
  • Location morphemes: Movement represents the location of an entity through a short, downward movement. The entity's orientation can be represented by shifting the hand's orientation.
  • Motion morphemes: Movement represents the entity's movement along a path.
  • Manner morphemes: Movement represents the manner of motion, but not the path.
  • Extension morphemes: Movement does not represent actual motion, but the outline of the entity's shape or perimeter. It can also represent the configuration of multiple similar entities, such as a line of books.
Whole entity classifiers and handling classifiers are the most established classifier types. The former occur with intransitive verbs, the latter occur with transitive verbs. Most linguists don't consider extension and surface classifiers to be true classifiers. This is because they appear in a larger range of syntactic positions. They also cannot be referred back to anaphorically in the discourse, nor can they be combined with motion verbs.
Certain types of classifiers and movements cannot be combined for grammatical reasons. For example, in ASL manner of motion cannot be combined with limb classifiers. To indicate a person limping in a circle, one must first sign the manner of motion, then the limb classifiers.
There is little research on the differences in classifier constructions across sign languages. Most seem to have them and can be described in similar terms. Many unrelated languages encode the same entity with similar handshapes. This is even the case for children not exposed to language who use a home sign system to communicate. Handling classifiers along with extension and surface classifiers are especially likely to be the same across languages.

Relation to gestures

Gestures are manual structures that are not as conventionalized as linguistics signs. Hearing non-signers use forms similar to classifiers when asked to communicate through gesture. There is a 70% overlap in how signers and non-signers use movement and location, but only a 25% overlap for handshapes. Non-signers use a greater amount of handshapes, but the signers' have more complex phonology. Non-signers also do not constrain their gestures to a morphological system as with sign language users.

Lexicalization

Certain classifier constructions may also, over time, lose their general meaning and become fully-fledged signs. This process is referred to as lexicalization. These types of signs are referred to as frozen signs. For example, the ASL sign FALL seems to have come from a classifier construction. This classifier construction consists of a V-shaped hand, which represents the legs, moving down. As it became more like a sign, it could also be used with non-animate referents, like apples or boxes. As a sign, the former classifier construction now conforms to the usual constraints of a word, such as consisting of one syllable. The resulting sign must not be a simple sum of its combined parts, but can have a different meaning entirely. They may serve as the root morpheme that serves as the base for aspectual and derivational affixes. Classifiers cannot take these types of affixes.