Sentence Repetition Results for TİD

As with DGS repetitions, in TİD data deviations from the prompt sentences are determined looking at manual localization of the nominal and verb signs. Note that, TİD participants were not observed to localize referents only via non-manual localization mechanisms. Repetition data of TİD contain 199 sentences (one sentence had to be excluded

77 It still has to be determined whether these patterns are specific idiolects (sociolects) or they reflect general patterns and how the competition between these patterns can be resolved. As has already been shown the neutral area can as well be used in contrastive localizations (i.e. neutral-ipsilateral contrast). However, given very few occurrences in the data, at this point it is not possible to generalize it to a pattern.

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from the analysis due to technical issues), which include 61 cases of manual localization.

There are two instances of manual particle (i.e. IX) and 59 occurrences of verb localizations.

The data are grouped according to the handedness status, and the participants.

Productions of TİD participants mainly matched the stimuli⁷⁸, except one sentence including two localizations (see also Table 4.16 for cases which do not include any manual localizations of the referents). The added manual localization devices are two IX signs. T06 (right-handed) produced them in the same sentence to localize each of R1 and R2 (Figure 4.12). In this single occurrence both referents are localized on the contralateral side (left). In particular, R2 is assigned to the distant (contra-d) and R1 to the proximate (contra-p) contralateral area relative to the body of a signer. Note that, even though the sentence includes localization of both referents, the discourse is further continued with null form of the R1 referent (for further details on the forms of the referents in continuation sentences see Chapter 5).

Figure 4.12: Contralateral proximate localization of R1 and contralateral distant localization of R2

78 This might be an indication that referents are not necessarily required to be localized at the beginning of a discourse.

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Table 4.16: Frequency of localized referents, manual localization mechanisms and spatial areas of localization for each of the TİD participants

handedness participant localization

In some cases (59/199) TİD participants diverged from localizations of the verbs in the prompt sentences by producing them in the lateral (i.e. ipsilateral or contralateral side) rather than in the neutral area of the signing space. In particular, agreement verbs signed in the neutral space in the stimulus material were signed with their end point (a location typically associated with the object referent, R2) on the ipsilateral or contralateral area, while their starting point were produced proximate to the body of the signer. An illustrative example of neutrally localized verb GREET in the stimuli and its modifications by right- and left-handed signers of TİD in repetition sentences is given in Figure 4.13⁷⁹.

The counts grouped according to the handedness and spatial area of the verb localization indicate that the ipsilateral (right) side is preferred by right-handed signers and

79 As the consent for the visual usage was not obtained from the TİD informant, the production which was found the closest to the stimulus (i.e. for neutral localization of the verb) is used as a representative example.

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the contralateral (right) side is preferred by left-handed signers to localize R2 with verbs (see Table 4.17).

Figure 4.13: Spatial modification of the verb GREET by right-handed (RH) and left-handed (LH) signers in TİD data, represented is the final hold of the verb

Table 4.17: Frequency of R2 localizations by spatial area of localization grouped according to the handedness of TİD participants

handedness localization mechanism

spatial area LoC ref

total #

RH verb ipsi R2 30

verb contra R2 9

LH verb ipsi R2 2

verb contra R2 18

In order to determine whether there are individual differences among participants in verb localization (either due to unequal production or intra-subject variation), the data were further split by of each signer (see Table 4.18). The findings show that all participants

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produced ipsilateral or contralateral localizations, however in varying amount. That is, the most cases were signed by T10 (i.e. 10 occurrences) and the least by T05 (i.e. 2 occurrences).

Some participants preferred the ipsilateral area for R2 localizations (right-handers: T01, T02 and T03), while others mainly favoured the contralateral area (right-handers: T04 and T06;

left-handers: T07, T08, T09 and T10). A few localizations by T05 (left-handed) are difficult to generalize to a pattern.

Table 4.18: Frequency of R2 localizations by spatial area of localization grouped by handedness and participants in TİD

handedness participant spatial area LoC ref

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To recap the findings regarding the spatial distribution of the referents obtained via manual localization, a general overview of the spatial areas preferred in default localization of R1 and R2 for each participant grouped by their handedness status is given in Table 4.19.

Table 4.19: An overview of spatial distribution of the referents by spatial area of localization by handedness and participants in repetition sentences of TİD

handedness participant R1 loc R2 loc

RH T01 -- ipsi

An unequal distribution of the referent localizations in repetition data revealed the following observations for TİD:

i. Some participants produced more localizations than the others (i.e. T10 vs. T05).

ii. Two-referent localizations were only observed for one signer in one occurrence (i.e. T06).

iii. In the contexts where only R2 was localized, this referent was preferred to be assigned to the ipsilateral side (right) by right-handed signers and to the contralateral side (right) by left-handed signers. Given that R1 was first introduced to the context it might be the case that this referent is covertly assigned to the left side (contralateral for right-handers and ipsilateral for right-handers).

iv. R1 was observed to be overtly localized when followed by an R2 localization (i.e.

only one occurrence by T06), but not when it was on its own.

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Repetition data of TİD included only one case of R1 localization, hence the decision was made to explore larger contexts including both repetition and continuation sentences with the aim to observe further occurrences of two-referent and one-referent overt localizations and to determine how those differ from the ones in DGS productions.