The main aim of this book is to present current research outcomes from quantitative analysis of Czech sign language. A multidisciplinary research project entitled “The Theoretical Basis for Teaching Czech Sign Language Tested through Quantitative Linguistic Methods” was carried out by researchers from three faculties of Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. It is the first attempt in the field of quantitative linguistics applied to a sign language. The authors believe that their book can serve at least as an introduction for further steps in this meritorious interdisciplinary area.

This pioneering work on Indonesian Sign Language (BISINDO) explores the linguistic and social factors that lie behind variation in the grammatical domains of negation and completion. Using a corpus of spontaneous data from signers in the cities of Solo and Makassar, Palfreyman applies an innovative blend of methods from sign language typology and Variationist Sociolinguistics, with findings that have important implications for our understanding of grammaticalisation in sign languages. The book will be of interest to linguists and sociolinguists, including those without prior experience of sign language research, and to all who are curious about the history of Indonesia’s urban sign community. Nick Palfreyman is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at the International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS), University of Central Lancashire.

This original research applies semiotics to linguistic and non-linguistic segments in a text in search of potential correlations between them. The resultant mapping is applied to cases of gesture-word mismatches that are evident in conflict situations. The current study adopts the word systems approach, a sign-based theory that is naturally designed for the analysis of linguistic signs, and extends it to non-linguistic units, borrowing analytical tools from the field of dance movement therapy. The variety of interdisciplinary metaphorical and literal interpretations of the analyzed signs enriches the theoretical framework and facilitates examination of the instances of mismatches. Hence, this study makes a meaningful contribution to the understanding of linguistic/non-linguistic mismatches in situations of conflict. Further, it makes more general claims: the semiotic system underlying this study paves the way for further research of correlations (or lack thereof) between a range of phenomena cutting across sociology, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and political science.

The monograph focuses on the typological differences between the four most widely spoken Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian) and Czech. Utilizing data from InterCorp, the parallel corpus project of the Czech National Corpus, the book analyses various categories (expression of potential non-volitional participation, iterativity, causation, beginning of an action and adverbial subordination) to discover differences and similarities between Czech and the Romance languages. Due to the massive amount of data mined, as well as the high number of languages examined, the monograph presents general and individual typological features of the four Romance languages and Czech that often exceed what has previously been accepted in the field of comparative linguistics.

The Arabic verbal system is, for most grammarians, the keystone of the language. Notable for the regularity of its patterns, it presents the linguist with an unparalleled opportunity to explore the Saussurean notion of the indivisible sign: form and meaning. Whilst Arabic forms are well-documented, the elucidation of the corresponding meanings has proved more challenging. Beginning with an examination of the verbal morphology of Modern Standard Arabic, including an evaluation of the significance of the consonantal root, this volume then concentrates on establishing the function of the vowel-lengthening verbal patterns (III and VI). It explores issues of mutuality and reciprocity, valency and transitivity, ultimately focusing on atelic lexical aspect as the unified meaning of these patterns. This study is rich in data and relies extensively upon contemporary examples (with transliteration and translation) to illustrate its arguments, adopting an empirical structuralist approach which is aimed both at general linguists and at specialist Arabists.