Papers by Annika Herrmann
Iconicity, the (perceived) form-meaning relationship, is present on all linguistic levels in sign... more Iconicity, the (perceived) form-meaning relationship, is present on all linguistic levels in sign languages. Looking at the phonological level, there is a well established relationship between the (fore)head as place of articulation (PoA) and the semantic domain of cognition for multiple sign languages. In previous studies, this relationship has been suggested for German Sign Language (DGS) as well, but none of them looked at the quantitative distribution of PoAs in signs within the semantic domain of cognition. In this study, we not only investigate the quantitative distribution of PoAs in signs of the semantic domain of cognition for DGS but also in the semantic domain of visual perception. Findings of this study are in line with previous research, suggesting a strong relationship between the semantic domain of cognition and the associated PoA (fore)head. For the semantic domain of visual perception, signs are predominantly articulated near the upper half of the face but not always close to the expected PoA, namely the eyes in the narrow sense.
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Papers by Annika Herrmann