Cross-modal iconicity and indexicality in Finnish Sign Language
Keränen, Jarkko (Jarkko.j.keranen@jyu.fi)
A PhD student at the Department of Language and Communication Studies, Sign Language Centre, University of Jyväskylä, Finland – funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation (skr.fi/en)
The invited lecture at the University of Cologne (online via ZOOM), 26th Oct 2022
Abstract
In this presentation, I consider cross-modal (i.e., across senses) iconicity (i.e., resemblance) and indexicality (i.e., spatiotemporal contiguity) in production of lexical sensory and emotional signs in Finnish Sign Language (FinSL). In signed language (and gesture), the gestural–visual system affords strongly iconic expressions for actions and objects. Recently, iconicity is increasingly recognized as a general property of signed and spoken language (e.g., Perniss et al. 2010).
There are two iconicity types in terms of sensory modality. In intramodal iconicity, a resemblance stays within the same sensory modality. For example, the visually perceptible sign BIRD (flapping hands) resembles the visually perceptible bird (flapping wings) (visual–visual). In cross-modal iconicity, a sign resembles its object across sensory modalities (Ahlner & Zlatev 2010): the voiced words mumu and kiki are perceived as similar to roundness/softness and sharpness/hardness (sound – touch/visual).
Cross-modal iconicity has not been extensively studied in sign language linguistics, perhaps due to the predominance of the visioncentrism (exceptionally Napoli 2017; Keränen 2021). Additionally, it is also known that indexicality (spatiotemporal contiguity) overlaps with iconicity. For example, an iconic holding hand indicates an invisible thing being held. Therefore, both iconicity and indexicality should be considered to gain the greater understanding of cross-modal patterns in lexical signs. Moreover, instead of perception (i.e., merely observing signs), I consider the patterns from the perspective of production (i.e., myself producing signs), assuming that only the production has articulatory feedback and hence different semiotic processes.
In my study, I approach the subject of the study from the perspective of cognitive semiotics – the transdisciplinary study of meaning, using concepts and methods from linguistics, cognitive science, and semiotics (Zlatev 2015). Using phenomenological methods – the systematic study of human experience – I carefully describe cross-modal patterns in 118 lexical sensory and emotional signs in FinSL.
Based on the findings, I conclude that a) only 10 of the 118 signs can be regarded as cross-modally iconic, b) cross-modal iconicity is highly diagrammatic – resemblance based on internal relations (i.e., volume and quality), and c) all 71 semantically cross-modal signs depend on crossmodal indexicality (i.e., contiguity across sensory modalities), d) articulatory feedback matters in the formation of semiotic patterns, and e) iconicity and indexicality are highly integrated in the signs. This contributes to several studies in sign language linguistics such as literature and etymology and the general discussion in studies of meaning-making across semiotic systems.
References
Ahlner, F. & Zlatev, J. 2010. Cross-modal iconicity: A cognitive semiotic approach to sound symbolism. Sign Systems Studies 38(1/4). 300–345.
Keränen, J. 2021. Iconic strategies in lexical sensory signs in Finnish Sign Language. Cognitive Semiotics, 14(2), 163-187.
Napoli, Donna J. 2017. Iconicity chains in sign languages. In Claire Bowern, Laurence Horn & Raffaella Zanuttini (eds.), On looking into words (and beyond), 463–481. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Perniss, P., Thompson, R, L. & Vigliocco, G. 2010. Iconicity as a general principle of language. Frontiers in Psychology 1.