ASL Agreement Verbs | Signing Naturally Unit 8.3 Guide

Localization introduces references to discourse, with subsequent indices to the local locus referring to the same referent. Indexation to the signer and addressee functions as first and second person pronouns respectively. Indexation to ipsilateral or contralateral referents is analyzed as third person, using G or V handshapes for singular, padule for dual, and arc/G/B for plural. Pre-nominal indexation functions as demonstrative (e.g., 'this book'). This system provides multiple strategies for referring to participants in discourse, distinguishing between self-reference, addressee-reference, and third-party references with varying grammatical marking.

An index is a sign that has a physical, existential, sequential, or causal relationship between the representamen and the object. The connection is concrete and actual rather than based on resemblance. Examples include smoke as an index of fire, dark clouds as an index of rain, footprints as an index of someone who walked there, and warning colors on poisonous animals (bright colors indicate danger). Indices can also be auditory, such as the sound of waves indicating the presence of the sea. In language, indexes appear through demonstrative words like 'ini' (this), 'itu' (that), 'sini' (here), and 'di situ' (there), which point to specific things or locations. Personal pronouns like 'aku' (I), 'saya' (I), 'kamu' (you), 'dia' (he/she), and 'mereka' (they) are also indexes because they point to specific people in the conversation.

Signed languages use spatial strategies to distinguish subjects and objects. In ASL, speakers establish referents in space and then sign verbs from the subject to the object. For example, signing 'I saw Gav' involves pointing to oneself, then pointing to Gav, then signing the verb 'see' from the self-point to the Gav-point. English retains traces of morphological strategies in phrases like 'I see them' or 'the employer hired the employee.'

This section covers fundamental concepts of person reference in sign languages. Across sign languages, anaphoric pointing in neutral signing space creates loci that acquire referential meaning through discourse. First and second person reference is marked by pointing at the signer's body versus the interlocutor's body, with Japanese Sign Language uniquely pointing to the nose. First person uses the B hand rather than the index finger. Loci are crucial for discourse coherence and can locate nouns, whole sentences, and indicate agreement between subjects and objects of transitive verbs. The section introduces the hypothesis that rural signing varieties may lack spatial verb inflection, a feature claimed as universal but absent in Bedouin, Katakulok, Inuit, and Adobe Robe Sign Languages.

The Token Space involves pointing to establish references to imaginary locations. It is fundamental for bringing imagery from text into the real signing space. The interpreter should avoid excessive pointing at the same location once established. When signing about multiple people or elements, the interpreter must maintain consistent spatial referencing throughout the discourse. This technique is used for people, animals, and locations, requiring the interpreter to organize their discourse and establish references before beginning to sign.

ASL sentences follow a fundamental structure of Time + Topic + Comment, where Time indicates tense, Topic identifies the main subject, and Comment describes what is happening to or about the topic; additionally, referents (pronouns pointing back to the topic) enhance clarity and can be positioned at various points in the sentence, including before, after, or sandwiched within the comment to ensure the listener understands which subject is being discussed.

This section covers the core difference between English and ASL grammar. While English places adjectives before objects, ASL uses a topic-comment structure where the object or subject is established first, followed by description. The general ASL sentence structure follows time-topic-comment order, with time words placed at the beginning since ASL lacks auxiliary words like 'is' or 'at.' Practical examples demonstrate this structure: 'Next year city big I'm moving,' 'This morning class great,' and 'Yesterday my brother got sick.' This foundational understanding is essential for all subsequent ASL learning.

ASL sentence structure differs significantly from English, following four main patterns: (1) Topic/Comment Structure places the topic first, followed by a pause and comment, with affirmations using head nods and negations using head shakes; (2) Rhetorical Questions use wh-words (who, what, when, where, why, which, how) as bridges, requiring the signer to lean forward and raise eyebrows; (3) Yes/No Questions require the signer to lean forward, raise eyebrows, and end with the sign 'you'; (4) Wh-Questions place the wh-word at the end of the sentence with eyebrows lowered. All sentence types use closing signals (pointing back to oneself or the listener) to indicate completion.

ASL uses a topic-comment sentence structure where the topic (subject) is presented first, followed by the comment (action or description), differing from English word order. The seven essential rules are: (1) Identify the topic first, (2) Place action signs at the end after the topic, (3) Position negation comments at the end after the action, (4) Put descriptions before the topic, (5) Use raised eyebrows as a topic marker, (6) Place WH-signs at the end of sentences, and (7) Position time signs before the sentence structure.

American Sign Language uses two primary sentence structures for communication: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) and Object-Subject-Verb (OSV). In SVO structure, the signer introduces the subject first (who is performing the action), followed by the verb (what is being done), and concludes with the object (what is being acted upon). When distinguishing between multiple people, the signer specifies the subject by signing the noun form and pointing to the specific person. In OSV structure, the order reverses to object, subject, and then verb. Both structures allow the signer to point back to the subject pronoun after signing the verb to emphasize or clarify who is performing the action. These two formats provide flexibility in how speakers convey information in conversational ASL.

Stative verbs describe states, conditions, or mental states without movement: 'know', 'understand', 'believe', 'love', 'hate', 'seem', 'appear', 'like', 'want', 'need'. They typically do not have continuous forms. Action verbs describe physical or mental activities with movement: 'run', 'walk', 'dance', 'sing', 'write', 'read', 'play'. To identify transitive verbs, ask 'what?' or 'whom?' after the verb. If an answer exists, it's transitive; if not, it's intransitive. Examples: 'I play cricket' (transitive), 'I sleep' (intransitive). Understanding these distinctions helps in proper verb usage.

Stative verbs describe states, feelings, or conditions (such as love, know, understand, need, believe, realize, recognize, and belong) and cannot be used in continuous tenses; they are only appropriate in simple present/past tenses and perfect tenses, unlike dynamic verbs which describe actions and can be used in all tenses.

This section covers stative verbs: Stative verbs describe states rather than actions and cannot be used in the present continuous tense. Examples include: believe, know, think, like, love, hate, own, possess. When used in present continuous, they change meaning to become dynamic verbs. For example, 'I am seeing' means 'I am meeting' (dynamic), while 'I see' means 'I perceive' (stative). The verb 'have' can be stative (possess) or dynamic (eat/drink). Stative verbs are used in present simple tense, not present continuous.

Verbs are divided into two main categories: action verbs and stative verbs. Action verbs (like 'play', 'watch', 'fight') represent dynamic actions with clear subjects and can be observed. Stative verbs (also called verbs of perception, feelings, senses, love, hate, possession, and measurement) describe states or conditions rather than actions. The instructor explains that stative verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses because doing so would create logical contradictions—for example, saying 'I am loving you' implies love is temporary, which contradicts its nature as a permanent state.

This segment covers state verbs describing conditions and movement verbs indicating direction. State verbs include 'to be' (to be a doctor, to be a nurse, to be a cook, to be a lawyer), 'to know' (I know French, I know Spanish), and 'to have' (I have a car, I have a chair, I have a guitar). Movement verbs include 'to go' (I go to the store, I go to the laundry) and 'to come' (she is coming, La Vini she is coming). These verbs help learners express identity, possession, and directional movement.