Language from the Body: Iconicity and Metaphor in American Sign Language

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 9
List of Figures......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 17
THE ABUNDANCE OF VISUAL IMAGERY IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE......Page 19
THE SIGN IS NOT ALWAYS ARBITRARY......Page 20
METAPHOR LETS ICONIC SIGNS HAVE ABSTRACT MEANINGS......Page 21
MAPPINGS AND LINGUISTIC THEORY......Page 23
A PREVIEW OF THE BOOK......Page 24
ARBITRARY, PREDICTABLE … OR MOTIVATED?......Page 26
THE GOALS OF LINGUISTIC THEORY......Page 28
COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS......Page 31
ICONICITY AND RESEMBLANCE DEFINED......Page 37
EXAMPLES OF SPOKEN-LANGUAGE ICONICITY......Page 41
EXAMPLES OF SIGNED-LANGUAGE ICONICITY......Page 44
APPROACHES TO ICONICITY IN LINGUISTIC THEORY......Page 53
THE ANALOGUE-BUILDING MODEL: IMAGE SELECTION,  SCHEMATIZATION, AND ENCODING......Page 61
Image Selection......Page 63
Schematization......Page 64
Encoding......Page 65
ADDITIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE MODEL......Page 69
ICONICITY AND MIME COMPARED......Page 73
IMPLICATIONS OF THE ANALOGUE-BUILDING MODEL......Page 78
INTRODUCTION......Page 81
ICONICITY IN SPOKEN LANGUAGES......Page 82
RELATION BETWEEN CONCEPT AND IMAGE IN SPOKEN-LANGUAGE ICONICITY......Page 84
Physical Entities Represent Themselves......Page 85
Shape of Articulators Represents Shape of Referent......Page 86
Movement of Articulators Represents Movement of Referent......Page 88
A Special Set of Patterns: Representation of Body Parts......Page 90
Shape of Articulators’ Path Represents Shape of Referent......Page 95
Locations in Signing Space Represent Locations in Mental Spaces......Page 97
Size of Articulation Represents Size of Referent......Page 101
Number of Articulators Represents Number of Referents......Page 103
Temporal Ordering of Signing Represents Temporal Ordering of Events......Page 105
Signing Represents Signing......Page 106
RELATION BETWEEN CONCEPT AND IMAGE IN SIGNED-LANGUAGE ICONICITY......Page 108
CONCLUSION: ONE PHENOMENON, MANY MANIFESTATIONS......Page 110
CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR THEORY......Page 112
THE DOUBLE MAPPING OF AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE METAPHORICAL SIGNS......Page 114
COMMUNICATING IS SENDING in American Sign Language......Page 116
TOPICS ARE LOCATIONS......Page 123
ANALOGUE-BUILDING MODEL OF METAPHORICAL ICONICITY......Page 127
SUMMARY......Page 131
SINGLE-PARAMETER METAPHORS......Page 132
THE FUTURE IS AHEAD......Page 133
INTIMACY IS PROXIMITY......Page 136
INTENSITY IS QUANTITY......Page 140
MULTIPLE METAPHORICAL PARAMETERS IN A SINGLE SIGN......Page 143
METAPHORICAL ICONICITY AND PURE ICONICITY IN A SINGLE SIGN......Page 153
SUMMARY......Page 155
MULTIPLE USES OF A SINGLE SOURCE DOMAIN......Page 156
MORE IS UP......Page 157
GOOD IS UP......Page 163
POWERFUL IS UP......Page 167
ANALYSIS IS DIGGING......Page 171
DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONS FOR DIFFERENT USES......Page 175
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VERB AGREEMENT......Page 177
THE SEMANTICS OF VERBS......Page 178
HOW AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VERBS MOVE THROUGH SIGNING SPACE......Page 180
SEMANTIC AND PHONOLOGICAL BASIS FOR AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE’S VERB CLASSES......Page 185
DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT: PATHS IN SIGNING SPACE......Page 187
DEFEAT: The Action-Chain Path......Page 188
GIVE: Literal and Action-Chain Paths Aligned......Page 190
INFORM: Metaphorical and Action-Chain Paths Aligned......Page 192
TAKE: Literal and Action-Chain Paths in Conflict......Page 193
QUOTE: Metaphorical and Action-Chain Paths in Conflict......Page 194
BORROW: Two Literal Paths......Page 196
ASK: Two Metaphorical Paths......Page 198
INVITE: Profiled Metaphorical Path, Backgrounded Literal Path......Page 200
PAY and SELL: Two Equally Asserted Literal Paths......Page 202
DISCUSS: Completely Balanced Paths......Page 204
LOOK and PERCEIVE-BY-EYES: EXP and THEME Arguments......Page 205
A MODEL OF VERB AGREEMENT PATHS......Page 209
VERB AGREEMENT IS PREDICTABLE......Page 212
METAPHOR AND POETRY......Page 214
STAGES OF “THE TREASURE”......Page 216
1. Introduction: Signing Is “Underground”......Page 217
2. Poet Begins Her Analysis......Page 218
3. Gleaming Treasure Uncovered......Page 220
4. Poet Attempts to Communicate with Those on the Surface......Page 221
5. Treasure Completely Reburied......Page 224
METAPHORICAL COMPOSITES IN “THE TREASURE”......Page 226
The First Framing: LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS IS ARCHEOLOGY......Page 227
The Central Episode: Discovering the Treasure......Page 232
The Second Framing: OPPRESSION IS BURIAL......Page 233
SUMMARY......Page 238
OUR PAST......Page 240
OUR CHALLENGE......Page 241
THE IMPORTANCE OF ICONICITY AND METAPHOR......Page 245
A NOTE ON “LOSS OF ICONICITY”......Page 246
OUR FUTURE......Page 248
APPENDIX ONE Glossing Conventions......Page 250
APPENDIX TWO Translation of “The Treasure”......Page 252
References......Page 257
Index......Page 267