Point of view in narrative discourse : a comparison of British sign language and spoken English
Expressing the point of view of a character and marking changes in point of view (POV) are key aspects of narrative discourse. The concept of POV has been discussed in the literature in various contexts, including deixis, logophoricity and subjectivity. A variety of linguistic and non-linguistic devices are used to indicate a particular POV, including nominal and pronominal reference, and facial expressions and intonation. Spoken languages can mark changes in POV using strategies such as direct and indirect discourse, the former coupled with optional paralinguistic cues such as intonation, whereas signed languages can mark changes in POV in a unique way using referential shift. Referential shift is a common device in sign language narrative discourse, where the signer 'becomes' a referent by taking on one or more attributes of that referent, such as facial expression and/or body position (Loew, 1984). Within a referential shift construction, verbs and pronouns which are marked for first person refer to the referent being portrayed rather than the signer. This study examines how point of view is marked in three fables, each told by native users of British Sign Language (BSL) and native speakers of English,
Earis, Helen
Point of view in narrative discourse : a comparison of British sign language and spoken English. Expressing the point of view of a character and marking changes in point of view (POV) are key aspects of narrative discourse. The concept of POV has been discussed in the literature in various contexts, including deixis, logophoricity and subjectivity. A variety of linguistic and non-linguistic devices are used to indicate a particular POV, including nominal and pronominal reference, and facial expressions and intonation. Spoken languages can mark changes in POV using strategies such as direct and indirect discourse, the former coupled with optional paralinguistic cues such as intonation, whereas signed languages can mark changes in POV in a unique way using referential shift. Referential shift is a common device in sign language narrative discourse, where the signer 'becomes' a referent by taking on one or more attributes of that referent, such as facial expression and/or body position (Loew, 1984). Within a referential shift construction, verbs and pronouns which are marked for first person refer to the referent being portrayed rather than the signer. This study examines how point of view is marked in three fables, each told by native users of British Sign Language (BSL) and native speakers of English,
point_view narrative_discourse comparison british_sign language_speak english point_view character mark_change point_view key_aspect narrative_discourse concept discuss literature various context include deixis subjectivity variety linguistic non_linguistic device_use indicate particular include nominal pronominal reference facial_expression intonation spoken languages mark_change use strategy direct_indirect discourse former couple optional paralinguistic cue intonation whereas sign_language mark_change unique_way use referential shift referential shift common device sign_language narrative_discourse signer becomes referent take attribute referent facial_expression and body position within referential shift construction verbs pronoun mark first_person refer referent portrayed rather signer study_examines point_view mark tell native user british_sign_language_bsl native_speaker_english