2022/2023

Whole-Entity Classifiers in Sign Languages

A Multiperspective Approach

Social Sciences

Principal investigators

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Vadim Kimmelman

Professor
University of Bergen (UiB)
Year at CAS

Abstract

I am going to investigate a uniquely interesting and complex phenomenon in sign languages, namely whole-entity classifiers. Whole-entity classifiers are meaningful handshapes that are used in signs describing motion and location in various sign languages. The phenomenon of classifiers lies on the intersection between language and gesture, and its properties have caused a lot of controversy in the field of sign linguistics. In this project, my collaborators and me will look at classifiers in several sign languages, both at their structure and meaning, and apply different frameworks and perspectives to reach a better understanding. The analysis of this phenomenon has implications for general linguistics and the study of the human linguistic capacity and communication because it clarifies which parts of language are universal and present in signed and spoken languages, and which depend on the channel of communication.

Fellows

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Carl Börstell

Associate Professor
University of Bergen (UiB)
Year at CAS
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Jenia Khristoforova

Phd Candidate
University of Amsterdam
Year at CAS
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Cornelia Loos

Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Hamburg
Year at CAS
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Jacopo Romoli

Professor
Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf
Year at CAS
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Pia Simper-Allen

Senior Lecturer
Stockholm University
Year at CAS
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Giorgia Zorzi

Associate Professor
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Year at CAS

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