Sociolinguistic Variation in Mouthings in British Sign Language: A Corpus-Based Study
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: , which do not. This study examines the relationship between the distribution of mouthings co-occurring with verb signs in British Sign Language (BSL) and various linguistic and social factors, using the BSL Corpus. We find considerable variation between participants and a lack of homogeneity in mouth actions with particular signs. This accords with previous theories that mouthings constitute code-blending between spoken and signed languages-similar to code-switching or code-mixing in spoken languages-rather than being a phonologically or lexically compulsory part of the sign. We also find a strong association between production of plain verbs (which are body-anchored and cannot be modified spatially) and increased mouthing. In addition, we observe significant effects of region (signers from the south of the United Kingdom mouth more than those from the north), gender (women mouth more than men), and age (signers aged 16-35 years produce fewer mouthings than older participants). We find no significant effect of language background (deaf vs. hearing family). Based on these findings, we argue that the multimodal, multilingual, and simultaneous nature of code-blending in sign languages fits well within the paradigm of translanguaging. We discuss implications of this for concepts of translanguaging, code-switching, code-mixing, and related phenomena, highlighting the need to consider not just modality and linguistic codes but also sequential versus simultaneous patterning.
Source: Language and Speech
Authors: Heidi Proctor, Kearsy Cormier
Institution: University College London
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,250
Awards: ESRC CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF DEAFNESS, COGNITION AND LANGUAGE - PHASE II 2011 TO 2016, Describing sociolinguistic variation in verb directionality in British Sign Language: A corpus-based study, G1503736452, G4135206865, Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre: ESRC Legacy Centre, G5315265683, G6417030692, G6561665803, The British Sign Language (BSL) Corpus Project: Sociolinguistic variation, language change, language contact and lexical frequency in BSL, G7997633096
OpenAlex ID: W4288435586