Query Details
| Query Subject: |
Lexical creation by signing apes
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| Author: | Celso lvarez Cᣣamo | |
| Submitter Email: | click here to access email | |
| Query: |
Hello,
I've just watched a documentary on Koko, the signing gorilla. In it, it is reported that Koko once transferred the sign for ''eyebrow'' for a type of lettuce called ''browse'' (spelling?) for which researchers didn't have yet a specific sign. Koko would move her thumb(s) across her eyebrow(s) to request browse -- not any lettuce. So, Koko seemed to be able to dettach the iconic component of the ASL sign and thus to create a pure symbol. If this is so (that is, if this was an innotative creation by Koko, not prompted by the researchers' own use of the sign, my questions are, (1) How would we better characterize this procedure? Lexical creation based on partial homophony? But, since the sign is not vocal-aural, what is the term commonly used for homophony for visual signs? (2) Has this phenomenon been observed in other signing apes? I am not referring, obviously, to lexical creation by composition (e.g. Koko's 'hole + hat' for 'mask', or 'ring + wrist' for 'bracelet'), or to the use of preestablished symbols by apes, but to a type of creative symbolization similar (I would say) to the transfer of ideographs for indicating phonetic component of other signs, or to the use of originally ideographic symbols in Japanese kanji. (3) What can be said about the implications of this procedure in signing apes with regards to their linguistic capabilities? Does this imply linguistic analysis and reflexivity beyond what is commonly assumed? Thank you, Celso lvarez Cᣣamo Tel. +34 981 167000 ext. 1888 Lingu?ica Geral, Faculdade de Filologia FAX +34 981 167151 Universidade da Corunha lxalvarz@udc.es 15071 A Corunha, Galiza (Espanha) http://www.udc.es/dep/lx/cac/ Dear List Members, I am looking for studies about the significance of proper names for a paper I am writing on what proper names reveal about the mind. I am familiar with Carroll (1983), Allerton (1987), and Marmaridou (1989), but I am not interested in the functional/pragmatic perspective. Does anyone out there know of any cognitive semantic studies of proper names? Your help will be greatly appreciated. If enough messages are received, I will post a summary as soon as I receive contributions. Kind regards ********************** Dr Zouhair Maalej, Department of English, Chair, Faculty of Letters, University of Manouba, Tunis-Manouba, 2010, Tunis, Tunisia. ********************************************* Office phone: (+216) 1 600 700 Ext. 174 Office Fax: (+216) 1 600 910 Home Telefax: (+216) 1 362 871 E-mail: zmaalej@gnet.tn URL: http//: simsim.rug.ac.be/ZMaalej |
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| LL Issue: | 12.1320 | |
| Date posted: | 14-May-2001 | |
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