Initiative Co-Director, Visual Language and Gesture Gallaudet University
My current investigations on ASL descriptions of complex events stem from my interest in what is popularly known as "roleshifting." Such phenomenon involve the conceptual integration of viewpoints, settings, and of particular interest, temporal components. Signers integrate conceptualized event time and discourse time for purposes of iconically depicting events as if they occur in the "here and now." My research has begun to describe such iconicity in ASL aspectual and change-of-state constructions. In addition to this construction grammar approach to ASL, I am also interested in signed language typology, the analysis of discourse using the theory of mental spaces, and language contact phenomena.
The is material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number SBE-0541953. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
My current investigations on ASL descriptions of complex events stem from my interest in what is popularly known as "roleshifting." Such phenomenon involve the conceptual integration of viewpoints, settings, and of particular interest, temporal components. Signers integrate conceptualized event time and discourse time for purposes of iconically depicting events as if they occur in the "here and now." My research has begun to describe such iconicity in ASL aspectual and change-of-state constructions. In addition to this construction grammar approach to ASL, I am also interested in signed language typology, the analysis of discourse using the theory of mental spaces, and language contact phenomena.