Eyeblinks & ASL Phrase Structure

The present report attempts to formulate an appropriate linguistic generalization for the occurrence of inhibited periodic eyeblinking by fluent ASL signers. There are three components to our investigation. In the first component, Observation, we take several signing sources, transcribe significant nonmanuals, and analyze where eyeblinks occur with respect to the signed signal and other nonmanuals. In the second component, Prediction, we formulate a generalization concerning the possible locations of eyeblinks and test this generalization by making predictions on a sample of signing. In the third component, Confirmation, we reconsider Baker and Padden’s observation that signers do not blink after the conditional clause before a question, provide data to the contrary, and provide a possible explanation of why they were led to the conclusion they reached. Overall, we show that signers’ eyeblinks are sensitive to syntactic structure, from which Intonational Phrases may be derived. These findings help to establish how intonational information, carried by pitch in spoken languages, can be provided in a signed language.