An Analysis Of The Syllable Structure Of Shanghai Sign Language

Based on natural data collected from Shanghai Sign Language, this dissertation analyzes syllables in Shanghai Sign Language under the framework of Prosodic Model, the main goals of which are to describe the phonological representation of Shanghai Sign Language, prove the existence of syllables, reveal the internal structure of syllables, illustrate the distribution of different syllable types, explain the phonological changes related to syllables and compare the different phonological behaviors of signs with various origins.The concept of a signed syllable is established on the basis of visual sonority and perceptual salience. Among the four general parameters of a sign (handshape, place of articulation, movement and orientation), movement is unanimously considered to be the most sonorous. The number of syllables in a string equals the number of sequential phonological dynamic units (movements) in that string. A sign in Shanghai Sign Language is the equivalent of a phonological word. The data of this research show that 75% of signs in Shanghai Sign Language are both monosyllabic and monomorphemic. However, signs, syllables and morphemes do not always overlap. Disyllabic monomorphemic signs and bimorphemic monosyllabic signs also exist in Shanghai Sign Language. As to the internal structure of syllables, every syllable in Shanghai Sign Language is composed of 2 timing slots and 1 to 3 weight unit(s), the former representing the duration of a syllable and the latter representing the complexity of a syllable. There are 4 types of weight units P, O, A, H in Shanghai Sign Language, respectively representing path movement, orientation change, aperture change and hold. These four weight units can generate 8 syllable types in Shanghai Sign Language:P, PA, O, A, PO, H, OA and POA, among which P has the largest proportion. Phonological changes in Shanghai Sign Language include syllable merge, movement epenthesis, non-dominant spreading, weak drop and weak epenthesis. The lexicon of Shanghai Sign Language consists of a core lexicon, a spatial component and a foreign component. There are 5 phonological constraints attested in the core lexicon of Shanghai Sign Language:MONOSYL, PWD≤1σ, PWD≤2σ, Symmetry Condition, Dominance Condition. The spatial component and the foreign component are peripheral to the core and they obey fewer phonological constraints in Shanghai Sign Language.