Doubling in RSL and NGT: a pragmatic account

Open Access
Authors
  • V. Kimmelman
Publication date 2013
Journal Interdisciplinary Studies on Information Structure
Event Information Structure: Empirical Perspectives on Theory, Graduate/Postgraduate Student Conference
Volume | Issue number 17
Pages (from-to) 99-118
Organisations
  • Faculty of Humanities (FGw) - Amsterdam Institute for Humanities Research (AIHR) - Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC)
Abstract In this paper, doubling in Russian Sign Language and Sign Language of the Netherlands is discussed. In both sign languages different constituents (including verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and whole clauses) can be doubled. It is shown that doubling in both languages has common functions and exhibits a similar structure, despite some differences. On this basis, a unified pragmatic explanation for many doubling phenomena on both the discourse and the clause-internal levels is provided, namely that the main function of doubling both in RSL and NGT is foregrounding of the doubled information.
Document type Article
Note Proceedings title: Information Structure: Empirical Perspectives on Theory
Publisher: Universitätsverlag Potsdam
Place of publication: Potsdam
Editors: M. Balbach, L. Benz, S. Genzel, M. Grubic, A. Renans, S. Schalowski, M. Stegenwallner, A. Zeldes
Language English
Published at
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Kimmelman_2013_isis17.pdf (Final published version)
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