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Because sign languages have two main articulators, signers simultaneously experience both possibilities and constraints in the articulation and perception of linguistic messages. Sign languages commonly convey different linguistic units with each hand, and additional information is conveyed in nonmanual signals. Meaningful perseverations (or sign fragments) refer to activity by the nondominant hand that indicates the topic of either the sentence or the discourse and may represent background information. Foreground information, on the other hand, is produced by the dominant hand. In this article I utilize data from Zaban Eshareh Irani (Iranian Sign Language) to discuss this type of activity on the nondominant hand.

This article examines the field of onomastics, specifically toponymy, in South African Sign Language (SASL). It focuses on the unique system of assigning names in sign languages, particularly personal and place names. The study analyzes urban place names in SASL, specifically in Bloemfontein, and identifies patterns and variations in the formation of toponymic signs. The analysis reveals the influence of both SASL's linguistic conventions and the surrounding spoken and written languages on the phonological aspects and semantic motivations of SASL place names. The study also highlights the incorporation of the manual alphabet from American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) into place name signs, as well as variations in signs for certain urban areas. The findings emphasize the historical and linguistic heritage embedded within SASL place names and the diverse perspectives within the deaf community, but further research is needed to explore the motivations and historical factors behind these variations. [Extracted from the article]

Signed languages employ finely articulated facial and head displays to express grammatical meanings such as mood and modality, complex propositions (conditionals, causal relations, complementation), information structure (topic, focus), assertions, content and yes/no questions, imperatives, and miratives. In this paper we examine two facial displays: an upper face display in which the eyebrows are pulled together called brow furrow, and a lower face display in which the corners of the mouth are turned down into a distinctive configuration that resembles a frown or upside-down U-shape. Our analysis employs Cognitive Grammar, specifically the control cycle and its manifestation in effective control and epistemic control. Our claim is that effective and epistemic control are associated with embodied actions. Prototypical physical effective control requires effortful activity and the forceful exertion of energy and is commonly correlated with upper face activity, often called the "face of effort." The lower face display has been shown to be associated with epistemic indetermination, uncertainty, doubt, obviousness, and skepticism. We demonstrate that the control cycle unifies the diverse grammatical functions expressed by each facial display within a language, and that they express similar functions across a wide range of signed languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of modality in Iranian Sign Language (ZEI) from a cognitive perspective, aimed at analyzing two linguistic channels: facial and manual. While facial markers and their grammatical functions have been studied in some sign languages, we have few detailed analyses of the facial channel in comparison with the manual channel in conveying modal concepts. This study focuses on the interaction between manual and facial markers. A description of manual modal signs is offered. Three facial markers and their modality values are also examined: squinted eyes, brow furrow, and downward movement of lip corners (horseshoe mouth). In addition to offering this first descriptive analysis of modality in ZEI, this paper also applies the Cognitive Grammar model of modality, the Control Cycle, and the Reality Model, classifying modals into two kinds, effective and epistemic. It is suggested that effective control, including effective modality, tends to be expressed on the hands, while facial markers play an important role in marking epistemic assessment, one manifestation of which is epistemic modality. ZEI, like some other sign languages, exhibits an asymmetry between the number of manual signs and facial markers expressing epistemic modality: while the face can be active in the expression of effective modality, it is commonly the only means of expressing epistemic modality. By positing an epistemic core in effective modality, Cognitive Grammar provides a theoretical basis for these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We begin with a brief sketch of the signed language used by the Iranian Deaf community: Zaban Eshareh Irani (ZEI). Then we discuss a system that is frequently employed in signed languages--fingerspelling-- which is the representation of characters in written systems by using conventionalized handshapes. Using ZEI naturalistic data, we describe a manual alphabet system (referred to as the Baghcheban phonetic alphabet in this article) that somewhat resembles Cued Speech but has features similar to those of many fingerspelling systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]