Nominal reduplication as plural marking in Argentine Sign Language: a descriptive approach

Abstract

Abstract in LSA

The present research aims to describe nominal reduplication in Argentine Sign Language (LSA), specifically as a plural marking mechanism. For this purpose, we use Pfau and Steinbach´s (2005) classification of nouns. Depending on the morpho-phonology of the signs, they divide nouns into four categories: lateral articulation nouns, sagittal articulation nouns, body-anchored nouns, and complex movement nouns. We worked in a discussion group with Deaf people and interpreters on real constructions taken mostly from videos in LSA. Our study shows that, for LSA, nouns with lateral articulation and those with sagittal articulation admit reduplication with sidewards movement (the latter with differences depending on whether the sign is one-handed or two-handed); body-anchored nouns admit, some of them, simple reduplication nouns, and others none at all (0-marking); and nouns with complex movement do not admit reduplication. Likewise, we observe that, in cases of 0-marking, the plural morpheme can be expressed together with another sign, which can be of different categories. With this, we differ from the proposal of Muñoz Pérez, Boria and Galvez (2020), for whom only lateral articulated nouns admit reduplication, and in all other cases the plural information is externalized by means of a classifier.