Browsing by Author "Njeyiyana, Susan"

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    Lexical variation and change in SASL : a case study of a Western Cape school-lect
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) Njeyiyana, Susan; Huddlestone, Kate; Baker, Anne; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Lexical variation is common in most sign languages and is often related to regional identity specifically connected to a specific school for the Deaf. This study examined lexical variation and change in South African Sign Language (SASL) within a particular Western Cape “school-lect”. The latter refers to the transmission of particular varieties of sign language in schools for Deaf children and to the extent of their retention by adult native signers in the community. In this study, a picture-based elicitation task, incorporating some English/Afrikaans words, was used to elicit signs for 65 lemmas, extracted from Woodward’s (1993) modified Swadesh list, from four age groups of signers, ranging from 8 to 68 years. The elicited signs for each lemma were described in terms of handshape, palm orientation, location and movement, and were compared with each other. Signs that did not differ were classified as identical, signs that differed in only one parameter were classified as similar, while signs that differed in more than one parameter were classified as different – such signs could in turn have similar variants. Considerable variation occurred within and across groups: The group with the most intra-variation was the 16- to 18-year-olds, while the most inter-group variation was found between the youngest group, 8- to 10- year-olds, and the two adult groups (signers older than 18 years). Focus group interviews were held with the two adult groups (23- to 29-year-olds and 42- to 68-year-olds) to identify participants’ attitudes towards lexical variation in general, and possible reasons for lexical variation within the Deaf community from their school. During the interviews, the adults gave examples of signs that had changed, and compared the new and old signs, speculating about the reasons for the new variants. Some observed that signs are influenced by the other five schools for the Deaf in the Western Cape and by the environment outside the school, from which variants are brought to the current school. Older adults felt strongly that their (older) sign variants were appropriate, and that they communicated more easily with each other. However, some signs have developed new meanings, leaving them confused. According to the older adults, children currently at the school appear to have completely different signs that look strange and/or inappropriate to the older adults. Some observed that young Deaf children and older Deaf adults do not connect with each other and that older adults do not want to learn new variants. In contrast, young adults were willing to learn other new variants from different regions to broaden their SASL and to enable them to communicate with each other better. Young adults are able to switch variants depending on the signing community. The reason for adapting their sign lexicon was that it is important to expand one’s knowledge of all the signs and varieties used in the different South African provinces. The present study is relevant, for understanding lexical variation in SASL and for the documentation of regional varieties that are under pressure to standardize.