The morpho-phonological (in)distinction of nouns and verbs in libras

Abstract

This paper investigates the previously explored phenomenon of morphophonological distinction between nouns and verbs in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). Similar research has been conducted on sign languages like American Sign Language (ASL) and Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN). We analyze sign movements within syntactic context to describe if a morphophonological distinction exists based on the repetition of phonological parameters (Quadros & Karnopp, 2004; Sobrinho, 2022) or a morphosyntactic interpretation (Minussi & Takahira, 2013; Almeida-Silva, 2019; Santos, 2020). This means that a phenomenon of morphology and its interfaces has been analyzed. Data from spontaneous language production in the Great Florianópolis Libras Corpus was collected. To determine the grammatical category, signs were collected within syntactic units focusing on structures where the argument structure minimized ambiguity. We also examined mouthing as a potential phonological categorizing element. Analysis results revealed inconsistency in associating morphological derivation with movement, as most data lacked the expected movement, aligning with previous findings. Similarly, mouthing occurrences seem irrelevant. Therefore, we conclude that the distinction between nouns and verbs is interpreted morphosyntactically. While sociolinguistic variables might be another explanation, data from other research supports these findings.