Introduction of the Research
Sign languages have two noticeably distinct types of morphological structure, one is sequential, and the other is simultaneous. Other than this there are two common sign languages being used, American and Israeli. Both of the languages fall in simultaneous morphology and are very similar, but when it comes to sequential morphology they differ, and are also derivational. There are different types of inflectional morphology that are discussed briefly in the paper. This research was also done to bring in the similarities between sign language and spoken languages all along; in 1970s and 1980s which are the starting days of linguistic research on sign languages, it has been noticed by the researchers that sign languages comprised of complex morphology. “Sign languages have two strikingly different kinds of morphological structure: sequential and simultaneous” (Aronoff, Meir, & Sandler, 2005: 33).
The sign language’s morphology after been researched is determined as a complicated process in which the words are overlayed on one another. In morphological structure of languages, the cross linguistic similarities are found.
“Simultaneous morphology consists of the superimposition of morphological structure on the canonical LML unit” (Aronoff, Meir, & Sandler, 2005, 311). Many properties of young Creole language are found in the sign language but just at one point they differ and that is when it comes to morphologies. The thing that was not noticed is that there is also some sequential affixation in the sign languages, other than these two puzzles of young Creole and morphological typology puzzle is studied (Aronoff, Meir, & Sandler, 2005 :22). There are these sign language types or as they say complex morphology types that are verb agreements and number of subject and object. The reason for all sign languages to have complex morphology is that they are chronologically young that as these are not too old. The American Sign Language is just 200 years old and the Israeli Sign Language is just 70 years old, this is what makes them complex morphology.
The population which knows this language either learned it from their deaf parents at home, and the other has late input after facing the discouragement from the society. If they were taught in their childhood, it would have benefited them better. Also, many sign languages have common characteristics as the Creole morphology. There is another morphology that includes that is common in spoken language ((Aronoff, et. al. 2005:6). Creoles languages are also in sequential affixation, affixations are both found in ASL and ISL both in different ways from difference in placement of verbs. There is this emergence of typical sign language morphology that has been discussed in the article. Here it was also seen that will what such an emergence do? And also if a new language comes up there were two hypotheses that were presented in the article.
Spoken creoles and sign languages share other features. All known creoles and sign languages are young, having all been created in the last 200 yeards or so. Because they are young we do not expect them to have accrued all the quirks that affect older languages, and so they may be closer to language in its unmarked state.
Hypothesis of the article
One of the hypotheses was concerning with a new sign language and this tripartite classification will be found in the early stages of its development (Aronoff, et. al. 2005: 13).
The evidence supporting for this hypothesis comes from the gesture to be worked on and that there are some sign systems that are not fully developed languages. The other hypothesis is like the Creole prototype, new sign languages will lack marking for a person and number, because the morphological categories of person and number. There is no such time taking by any other language like been taken by morphological categories found in new spoken or signed language.
There is the hypothesis that was seen in this research which argues that such language systems are prevalent to correspond to the basic three way semantic contrast: Agreement verbs that refer to actions of a transfer, spatial verbs to motion and location, plain verbs are defined negatively, plain verbs that are used in emotional and psychological states, there are more concepts. The main hypothesis was to found out what will be faced by the developing language in its early stage of development. They searched on the more similarities that were in between the spoken and sign languages. The other hypothesis was that as Creole languages prototype new sign languages may also lack marking of person and number and like all morphological categories take time to develop (Aronoff, et. al. 2005: 6).
The data collected in this article is from the ABSL, and this is a major part that helped the article to get results. The data collected from the research shows that there are three generations of signers and the first one has deafness appeared in the community, and also included fewer than ten deaf individuals. There are these other generations with whom the work was done by the researchers and the signers were talked to, and their views were taken for the data collection.
About ABSL
The organization is within the village and after the interviews it showed that the second generation doesn’t have many of the contact with deaf people outside the village. There is schooling for the deaf restricted in the village as if they attended school they didn’t receive any special education or attention other than the hearing students. This was till the second generation of ABSL. They didn’t even have any link with the ISL signers but now the third generation has more link as for the schooling and also the old deaf people stay within the village too. The data collected through contact with eight signers of ABSL’s second generation as for the data received through questioning and also video clips that see the arrangement and alignment of words((Aronoff, et. al. 2005: 23).
Methodology
The methodology used in this research was qualitative because the the questionnaires are the major source by which the data is being collected and followed. In this research, the data was collected through meeting and interviews with the ABSL generations. The limitations of the method are there is less comparison with the past literature and no graphical representation were taken in the research which resulted as for the ambiguity in the research (Watzlawick, Bavelas, & Jackson, 2011).
The data was analyzed through the word order; use of space to indicate motion and location and also the usage of space to indicate a verb agreement. It was seen that the verb agreement is systematic (Aronoff, et. al. 2005: 35).
Conclusions:
The research discussed that the established sign language has morphological types; established sign languages also show non-motivated, grammaticalized morphology but also to a systematic limitation as they are younger. ABSL showed some different things like the established sign languages are neither motivated nor the arbitrary morphology, ABSL gave the lesson that even the motivated morphology that was found in all established sign language requires the most social interaction over the time. It also indicates the new language prototype. Their prototype was originally formulated on the basis of Creole language. It has also been mentioned by the conclusion that the sign languages will face numerous problems from which one is the common usage of other sign languages. There are some issues in the development of new language and them major is to face the reporting of verb agreements and also the arrangement of the words. ABSL also showed that the sign languages develop over the time as it takes social integration for this purpose (Aronoff, et. al. 2005: 14). They also give little or no systematic morphology for the new language prototype, and that to establish in the basis of Creole languages prototype, they noted that the formulation of prototype has also faced some difficulties along the years, as the ABSL is a new language it is easy to distinguish between the new and the old languages as ABSL is a newly developing language (Aronoff, et. al. 2005: 28).
Areas for further study
The areas for further studies are the same as this research is for what the problems are faced by a newly established sign language, how should it be promoted as the sign language here are not too old, where to start from, how to cater the needs of the deaf and to whom it should refer to and the setting of the languages arrangements. All of this is important to be studied further as in research ABSL even having 3500 members, still it is not too famous and also that the other languages are younger so it will take time for this language to emerge.
Bibliography
Aronoff, M., Meir, I., & Sandler, W. (2005). The paradox of sign language morphology. Language, 81 (2), 301-344
References
Aronoff, M., Meir, I., Padden, C., & Sandler, W. (2005). Morphological universals and the sign language type. In Yearbook of Morphology 2004 (pp. 1-39). Springer Netherlands.
Watzlawick, P., Bavelas, J. B., & Jackson, D. D. (2011). Pragmatics of human communication: A study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes. WW Norton & Company.
