The Phonology of Kenyan Sign Language (Southwestern Dialect)
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Date
2017
Authors
Morgan, Hope E.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) is a thriving national sign language used by tens
of thousands of signers in Kenya, and which emerged out of two deaf schools in
western Kenya in the early 1960s. In this thesis, I provide a thorough description and
analysis of the basic phonological components of the KSL lexicon used in the
southwestern region of Kenya (formerly south Nyanza Province).
This phonological grammar of (SoNy)KSL makes contributions in three
domains. In the descriptive domain, it provides a thorough report of the basic units in
the main phonological parameters; i.e., Handshape (Ch. 4), Location (Ch. 5), and
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Movement (Ch 6, 7), as well as the evidence for the distinctiveness of each unit. The
description for Movement and Location are particularly noteworthy because those
parameters have received less attention in sign linguistics in general compared to
Handshape.
In the methodological domain, the grammar is based on a KSL Lexical
Database built for this project, in which over 50 phonetic characteristics of 1,880 noncompound
signs were coded. This database is currently one of only a few such richly
coded lexical databases of sign languages. In addition, this grammar employs a rigorous
approach to determining lexical contrast, which has yielded a separate dataset of 461
minimal pairs (Ch. 3). This dataset is unique in sign linguistics and reveals patterns of
lexical contrast that were not previously known—and which have generated new
hypotheses about how lexical contrast may be constrained by degrees of visual
similarity.
Finally, this thesis makes a theoretical contribution by comparing how different
models of sign phonology can account for sign types in KSL. By evaluating the
explanatory power of the main theories of sign phonology on the basis of specific
descriptive data, this thesis gives unique insights into the theoretical validity of these
models. It also proposes modifications in some cases, especially with regard to how the
Dependency Model (DPM) can account for the representation of movement features
and their relationship to the timing tier. In addition, a new movement feature,
[dispersed], is described and its implementation worked out in the DPM
Description
A Dissertation Submitted In Partial Satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of philosophy in linguistics with a specialization in Anthropogeny
Keywords
Phonology, Kenyan Sign Language, Southwestern Dialect