Arbitrariness and iconicity: historical change in American Sign Language

Autor/a: FRISHBERG, Nancy
Año: 1975
Editorial: Language, Vol. 51, nº 3 (1975) pp. 696-719
Tipo de código: Copyright
Soporte: Digital

Temas

Lingüística » Lingüística de otras Lenguas de Signos

Detalles

This paper examines historical processes in American Sign Language (ASL) and shows that there is a tendency for signs to change in the direction of arbitrariness, rather than maintaining a level of iconicity. Changes at the formational level are seen as contributing to language-internal consistency, at the expense of transparency.