Victoria Nyst | Universiteit Leiden (original) (raw)

Papers by Victoria Nyst

This paper describes the methodology and results of a 3-year project documenting the local sign l... more This paper describes the methodology and results of a 3-year project documenting the local sign language that sponteaneously emerged in the deaf community in Bamako, the capital of Mali. This project led to the establishment of a digital, annotated video corpus of this language.

An overview of the sign languages in use in West Africa.

This paper describes the use of simulaneous constructions in the sign language of Adamorobe, an A... more This paper describes the use of simulaneous constructions in the sign language of Adamorobe, an Akuapim Twi village in Ghana. Whereas simultaneous constructions are typically widely used across the sign languages studied so far, they are only marginally used in AdaSL.

See page 14 of this newsletter. A one page report on an local sign language used in a Bura speaki... more See page 14 of this newsletter. A one page report on an local sign language used in a Bura speaking community in Nigeria.

Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL) is used in a small village in Ghana of about 1400 inhabitants whe... more Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL) is used in a small village in Ghana of about 1400 inhabitants where a high incidence of hereditary deafness has persisted over many generations. Both deaf and hearing villagers use AdaSL, which is entirely unrelated to Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL), the ASL-based national sign language of Ghana. Compared to the sign languages studied to date, AdaSL has a number of distinctive features that set it apart structurally. These include the absence of entity classifier handshapes in verbs of motion, an unusual system for the expression of size and shape, and idiosyncratic iconicity phenomena, in particular the types of spatial projections allowed (Nyst 2007). The relatively large number of hearing AdaSL signers seems to have caused some of these atypical, language-specific features.

The area around Douentza in Mali appears to have a relatively high incidence of deafness. This pa... more The area around Douentza in Mali appears to have a relatively high incidence of deafness. This papers describes the methodology and results of a survey on deaf sign language users in this area as part of a documentation project.

Adamorobe Sign Language is the sign language used in the village of Adamorobe in Ghana. This sign... more Adamorobe Sign Language is the sign language used in the village of
Adamorobe in
Ghana. This sign language has evolved as a result of the high hereditary
deafness incidence in this village. Adamorobe has approximately 1400
inhabitants, more than 30 of whom are deaf.
The main spoken language in the village is Akan, a Kwa language. This
thesis aims to give a description of aspects of Adamorobe Sign Language
(AdaSL) and to compare these with other sign languages as well as with
Akan. It attempts thus to contribute to our knowledge of possible structures
in human language and in languages in the visual modality in particular.
More than spoken languages, the sign languages studied so far show
structural similarities.
These corresponding structures seem to be motivated by the
communicative channel used by sign languages – that is, the visual-spatial
modality. However, the well-studied sign languages not only share their
modality, but they also occur in corresponding, rather specific social
conditions. Thus, most of well-studied are relatively young, they are used by
rather large Deaf communities, have an atypical acquisition pattern and a
history of suppression. Home sign languages –sign languages of deaf people
who do not regularly communicate with other deaf people- arise in radically
different circumstances and are therefore much more divers in structure. It is
commonly assumed that large sign languages have arisen from the merger of
several home sign languages as documented in the case of Nicaragua Sign
Language.
The considerable structural variety in home sign languages and the
relatively great similarity between large sign languages suggest that
languages develop along a unidirectional path leading to structural
convergence. Sign languages arisen and used in hearing communities also
appear to have a different structure. However, the differences in the social
settings of these three types of sign languages differ to such an extent that it
is hard to establish which ones are really relevant. The differences in social
settings between AdaSL and large sign languages are relatively small and
enable us to evaluate the influence of these differences. Thus like the large
sign languages AdaSL has a community of deaf people and a comparable
time depth.
A significant but well defined difference concerns the
intergenerational transmission. In large deaf communities transmission is
hampered by the fact that most deaf children are born in hearing families. In
Adamorobe a deaf child is surrounded by signing relatives from early on. In addition, there seems to be a difference in the experience of deafness, in
particular in the lack of a distinct Deaf community.
The chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this thesis give a comparative description of a
number of AdaSL aspects. In chapter 2 it becomes clear that if we compare
AdaSL to NGT, a large sign language, the former uses considerable sign
space, has many lexical signs with a non manual element and a small set of
unmarked hand shapes. AdaSL rather resembles home sign and young sign
languages in these respects.
Chapter 3 deals with the lexicon, specifically the semantic fields of
relationship, colour, numbers, time and names. The lexicon appears to be
strongly influenced by Akan considering the frequent use of mouthings and
loan translations.
Chapter 4 describes various ways of expressing form and size in
AdaSL. In a number of ways AdaSL diverts significantly from what is
common in the large sign languages so far studied. This is particularly
notable in the use of so called measure stick signs. These measure stick signs
are also used by hearing people in Ghana and other parts of Africa.
Moreover AdaSL has standard signs to indicate a relative size which do not,
as seems to be the case in other sign languages, adapt to the absolute size of
the entity in question.
Chapter 5 describes expressions of motion. A structure that seems to
be common in almost any large sign language is the so-called classifierconstruction.
Whereas handle classifier constructions typically express
externally controlled motion, entity classifier constructions typically express
internally controlled motion. AdaSL rarely uses handle classifier
constructions to express externally controlled movements. Moreover, AdaSL
appears not to make use of a system of entity classifiers.
In AdaSL the usual way to indicate movement is through ´directionals´.
These movement signs (which can be spatially modified) each express a
basic movement pattern of movement regarding the cause of the movement
e.g. TOWARDS or ENTER. They may occur in a series with a sign expressing
manipulation (e.g. TAKE) or expressing a way of moving (such as RUN), thus
specifying the Cause of the movement.
From the descriptive chapters a pattern of features typical of AdaSL
arises. These are discussed in chapter 6.

In communities with an unusually high incidence of deafness, sign languages shared by both hearin... more In communities with an unusually high incidence of deafness, sign languages shared by
both hearing and deaf community members are found to spontaneously develop. The
sociolinguistic setting of these shared sign languages, also known as “village sign languages”,
differs considerably from the settings of the “macro-community sign languages”
studied so far. This chapter provides an overview of communities with a high incidence
of deafness around the globe, followed by an overview of the sociological and sociolinguistic
features that characterize them. A description is then given of the structural features
in which shared sign languages appear to differ from the sign languages of large
Deaf communities. A discussion of the role of language age and language ecology in
shaping shared sign languages concludes this chapter.

Sign languages are the natural languages of deaf people and deaf communities. In the past 50 year... more Sign languages are the natural languages of deaf people and deaf communities. In the past 50
years, an impressive number of sign languages have come to be studied from a modern linguistic
perspective, generating ground-breaking insights into the influence of the communicative channel on
language structure. However, only a handful of these studies concern sign languages on the African
continent. This is striking, particularly in view of the rich diversity of sign languages and signing
communities found in Africa. Despite being limited in number, the studies available on African sign
languages reveal unique structural features, not attested in non-African sign languages so far. Thus,
research on African sign languages is important for the typology of sign languages, as well as for the
general typology of African languages. The diversity in signing communities in sociolinguistic terms
offer valuable opportunities for studying the impact of social setting on sign language structure; an
issue of current debate in the sign language literature. Studies on African sign languages are relevant
for a number of domains in general linguistics as well, including language contact, change, shift,
acquisition, creation, and emergence. Last but not least, the scientific examination of African sign
languages is of major importance for the emancipation and participation of deaf African in society.

Most of the studies on gesture in sub-Saharan Africa focus on documenting the forms and meanings ... more Most of the studies on gesture in sub-Saharan Africa focus on documenting the forms and
meanings of conventionalized gestures such as pointing, repertoires of quotable gestures and
counting gestures. An important aspect of these studies, particularly work on pointing, has
been to highlight how cultural an interactive norms shape gestural behavior. The role of
gestures in oral-story telling and other art forms has also been a particular area of interest
in the African context. In work on oral narratives, there has also been a focus on the
relationship of ideophones and gestures. Studies on gestures in the African diaspora give
support to other work showing the persistence of gestures over time. Many of these studies
on gesture in sub-Saharan Africa highlight the conscious and often explicit importance
attached to gesture and bodily conduct in many African cultures.

An overview of the sign languages in use in West Africa.