Mouthing
Encyclopedia
In sign language
, mouthing is the production of visual syllable
s with the mouth while signing. Although not present in all sign languages, and sometimes not in signers at all levels of education, where it does occur it may be an essential (that is, phonemic) element of a sign, distinguishing signs which would otherwise be homophone
s; in other cases a sign may seen to be flat and incomplete without mouthing even if it is unambiguous.
Mouthing often originates from oralist education, where sign and speech are used together. Thus mouthing may preserve an often abbreviated rendition of the spoken translation of a sign. In educated Ugandan Sign Language
, for example, where both English and Ganda are influential, the word for , Av"
, is accompanied by the mouthed syllable nyo, from Ganda nnyo 'very', and , jO*[5]v", is accompanied by vu, from Ganda onvuma. Similarly, the USL sign , t55bf, is mouthed fsh, an abbreviation of English finish, and , }HxU, is mouthed df.
However, mouthing may also be iconic
, as in the word for (of food or drink) in ASL
, UtCbf"
, where the mouthing suggests something hot in the mouth and does not correspond to the English word "hot".
Mouthing is an essential element of cued speech
and simultaneous sign and speech, both for the direct instruction of oral language and to disambiguate cases where there is not a one-to-one correspondence between sign and speech. However, mouthing does not always reflect the corresponding spoken word; when signing 'thick' in Auslan
, for example, the mouthing is equivalent to spoken fahth.
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, mouthing is the production of visual syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s with the mouth while signing. Although not present in all sign languages, and sometimes not in signers at all levels of education, where it does occur it may be an essential (that is, phonemic) element of a sign, distinguishing signs which would otherwise be homophone
Homophone
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
s; in other cases a sign may seen to be flat and incomplete without mouthing even if it is unambiguous.
Mouthing often originates from oralist education, where sign and speech are used together. Thus mouthing may preserve an often abbreviated rendition of the spoken translation of a sign. In educated Ugandan Sign Language
Ugandan Sign Language
Ugandan Sign Language is the deaf sign language of Uganda. Uganda was the second country in the world to recognize sign language in its constitution, in 1995. A Ugandan Sign Language Dictionary has been published. However, knowledge of USL is primarily urban, as access to education for the rural...
, for example, where both English and Ganda are influential, the word for , Av"
Stokoe notation
Stokoe notation is the first phonemic script used for sign languages. It was created by William Stokoe for American Sign Language , with Latin letters and numerals used for the shapes they have in fingerspelling, and iconic glyphs to transcribe the position, movement, and orientation of the hands...
, is accompanied by the mouthed syllable nyo, from Ganda nnyo 'very', and , jO*[5]v", is accompanied by vu, from Ganda onvuma. Similarly, the USL sign , t55bf, is mouthed fsh, an abbreviation of English finish, and , }HxU, is mouthed df.
However, mouthing may also be iconic
Iconicity
In functional-cognitive linguistics, as well as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign and its meaning, as opposed to arbitrariness.Iconic principles:...
, as in the word for (of food or drink) in ASL
ASL
ASL is a common initialism for American Sign Language, and may also refer to:*Above sea level, altitude measurement*Adobe Source Libraries, a set of open source software libraries by Adobe...
, UtCbf"
Stokoe notation
Stokoe notation is the first phonemic script used for sign languages. It was created by William Stokoe for American Sign Language , with Latin letters and numerals used for the shapes they have in fingerspelling, and iconic glyphs to transcribe the position, movement, and orientation of the hands...
, where the mouthing suggests something hot in the mouth and does not correspond to the English word "hot".
Mouthing is an essential element of cued speech
Cued speech
Cued Speech is a system of communication used with and among deaf or hard of hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system which makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of handshapes in different locations near the mouth , as a supplement to lipreading...
and simultaneous sign and speech, both for the direct instruction of oral language and to disambiguate cases where there is not a one-to-one correspondence between sign and speech. However, mouthing does not always reflect the corresponding spoken word; when signing 'thick' in Auslan
Auslan
Auslan is the sign language of the Australian deaf community. The term Auslan is an acronym of "Australian sign language", coined by Trevor Johnston in the early 1980s, although the language itself is much older...
, for example, the mouthing is equivalent to spoken fahth.