On Selected Morphemes in Saudi Arabian Sign Language

Following a year of study of Saudi Arabian Sign Language (SASL), we are documenting our findings to provide a grammatical sketch of the language. This paper represents one part of that endeavor and focuses on a description of selected morphemes, both manual and non-manual, that have appeared in the course of data collection. While some of the morphemes described here have been found to be unique to SASL, several have been previously identified in American Sign Language (ASL) as well as other European sign languages. The general methodology of the group of researchers is described in detail by Stephen and Mathur (this issue), and can be referred to as a background for the methodology described below. What follows is a description of three separate studies beginning with a description of manual aspectual markers by Carla Morris. This is followed by the description of the nonmanual intense face adverbial, and a description of tongue movements, both by Erin Schneider. All of the analyses seek to identify the form of the morphemes, as well as describe their possible functions. Each analysis is followed by comparison with similar phenomena in other languages and directions for future research on the topic.