Video Examples (ch. 10)

The following are video clips referenced in A grammatical sketch of Sivia Sign Language. This page is for Chapter 10 (Syntax). For other examples, see Chapters 4 (Methodology) and 5 (Phonetics), Chapter 6 (Phonology), Chapter 8 (Morphology), and Chapter 9 (Morpho-syntax).

Handedness related to physical location

00:00 Signer 1: 1 SEE NICE / SEE+SURPRISE(NM) / 1 SEE NICE / RAIN+LOC / THERE WATERFALL+LOC1 OVER.THERE+LOC1
I see it’s nice. It surprises me. I see it’s nice, it’s raining. There’s a waterfall, on that side.

00:05 Signer 1: THAT FIRST(ND) / 1 SIGN / WAY.OVER.THERE(ND)+LOC2 SIGN / WAY.OVER.THERE(ND)+LOC3 SIGN / WAY.OVER.THERE(ND)+LOC4 / A.LOT
That’s one. I signed. I signed way over there. I signed way over there. Way over there. It was a lot.

00:14 Signer2: WALK+LOC5+TIRED(NM)-GO / HEY(ND)
We walked really far. Hey,

00:15 Signer 1: WALK(ND)+LOC4-ZIGZAG(ND)
(We) walked way over there.

00:17 Signer 2: FIRST-SECOND-THIRD / THREE / NO.MORE
The first three. Three (waterfalls), and that’s it.

00:18 Signer 1: YES(NM)-THREE(ND)
Yeah, three.

Non-dominant hand for preservation

00:00 THREAD.NEEDLE+LOC1 (TINY(ND)+LOC1) FASTEN+LOC2 GOOD+LOC2
Thread a needle and fasten the end well.

00:06 (TINY(ND)+LOC1)-GRAB+TINY+LOC1
Take the needle,

00:07 GRAB+TINY(ND)+LOC3 / SEE SEW+LOC3 / GOOD(2H)
look at the (hole at the) shoulder and sew it. It’s good.

Non-dominant hand for multiple characters

00:00 MAN SHORT KIND.OF SIT / SHORT SEE WALK(2H)
A shortish man is sitting. He sees someone walking.

00:03 SEE WALK+TIRED(NM)
He sees someone walking far ahead.

00:04 MAN(ND) HERE(ND) / WOMAN(ND) SEE+TRANS(ND) WALK SEE(ND)
The man is here. The man sees a woman walking.

00:08 THINKING(ND)-SEE(-WHAT) / THINKING(ND)-SHORT-TALL(-WHAT)
He’s thinking, “what do I see?” Thinking, “is she short or tall?”

00:15 THINKING(ND)-KIND.OF-GOOD / NO.MORE(2H)
Thinking, “it’s fine”. That’s it.

Upward gaze at phrase boundaries

Phrase-final lengthening

Shortening with repetition

Signer 1: GROW.UP HIT WHAT
When you were growing up, did anyone hit you or anything like that?

Signer 2: 1+YES GROW.UP+YES HIT+CONT / 1+YES GROW.UP…
Yes, they hit me a lot. When I was growing up…