Mixed viewpoints in factual and fictive discourse in Catalan Sign Language Narratives
Temas
Detalles
This chapter is based on in-depth qualitative analysis of original elicited and naturalistic narratives from 20 native signers of Catalan Sign Language. Signed languages are especially interesting for the study of mixed viewpoints, since their grammar is characterized by viewpoint shift (Herrmann and Steinback 2012). They also lend themselves particularly well for the study of conversational constructions, such as direct discourse, as they are typically used in situated intersubjective interaction. We focus on the use of role shift to set up non-genuine quotes in Catalan Sign Language narratives. In particular, we examine multifunctional or polysemic direct discourse, which is characterized by (mixed) viewpoints. In signed languages direct discourse may serve to represent a referent’s utterances, actions, thoughts, emotions, attitudes and source of information. We show that despite its complexity, constructed action, which involves multiple perspectives, is a central component of Catalan Sign Language narratives. In fact, although alternative descriptive constructions do exist, native signers consider constructed action as the most unmarked (cf. Quinto-Pozos 2007). We further propose that the structure of mixed viewpoints in narratives – and in grammar – mimics the mode in which language is mostly used, namely intersubjective conversation, characterized by constant perspective shifting.
En: Dancygier, B; LU, W. y Verhagen, A. (eds.), Viewpoint and the fabric of meaning: form and use of viewpoint tools across languages and modalities (2016).