Adverbial Morphemes in Tactile ASL - Gallaudet University

PDE – Steven D. Collins
Intellectual Context and Literature Review
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eyebrows, tongue and mouth); head movements (tilts, nods, or shakes); muscle tenseness (tense,
lax, or neutral); and upper body positions (leans and tilts). Several ASL signs include a nonmanual
feature in their underlying form. Many adjectives and adverbs in ASL consist of a nonmanual
facial configuration that co-occurs while a manual predicate is being articulated (Liddell
1980; Padden 1988). The adjectival and adverbial configurations generally use the lower face,
e.g., clenching of the teeth, tensing of the open lips and pursing of the mouth (Bienvenu and
Colonomos 1991). This paper examines which features of TASL function as non-manual
adverbs in visual ASL.
The following illustrations show six examples of non-manual components of ASL which
function as adverbs. These figures illustrate adverbials that are inherent in the facial grammar of
ASL. Each of the six examples is shown in two forms, with and without the NMS.
Figure 1
VERY–WOW
Figure 2
WOW
Figure 1 shows the sign glossed 3 as VERY–WOW. The NMS is described as “puffed
cheeks” with narrowed eyes. The NMS is an intensifier similar to the English word very. Figure
2 shows a similar sign glossed as WOW without the puffed cheeks and widened eyes. Without
the NMS the sign loses the intense meaning.
3 A gloss is a symbol for a sign in ASL. Throughout this PDE, glosses are used. For a more detailed description of
glosses and gloss conventions, see Appendix B.
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