A iconicidade na produção lexical de hiperônimos e hipônimos na libras

Abstract

Studies on iconicity have demonstrated that this phenomenon constitutes a structuring factor in sign languages, influencing not only phonology but also the syntactic, semantic, and morphological structures of languages (Perniss, 2007). This research aligns with this line of investigation by linking the creation and production of hypernym and hyponym signs to iconicity. Clarifying how vertical categorization in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) is formed through cognitive processes associated with iconicity is relevant, as it deepens the theoretical relationship between language and cognition. Accordingly, we formulated the following research questions: how do deaf adults establish hyponymic and hyperonymic relations in Libras? What linguistic differences exist in the production of basic and subordinate items from an iconicity perspective? The central aim of this research is to investigate how deaf adults establish hyponymic and hyperonymic relations in Libras. We begin with the hypothesis that deaf individuals tend to represent hyponyms by using the hypernym sign followed by modifying signs present in the lexicon and, primarily, by more iconic representational signs to differentiate hyponym items. Our second hypothesis proposes that hyponym items, although subordinate, exhibit iconic creation processes like basic items, thereby underscoring iconicity as a structuring force throughout the Libras lexicon. To support our analysis, we draw on Lyons (1977) and Vidal (2011), who understand hyponyms as combinations of hypernyms with specific modifying information. We further rely on the model proposed by Johnston and Schembri (2007) to describe the lexical structure of Libras, equipping our analysis with the authors’ definition of representational signs, which are distinguished from lexicalized signs. Rosch (1975) informs our approach to basic and subordinate items, which we analyze as hypernyms and hyponyms. Additionally, we apply Taub's (2004) model, which divides the sign creation process into three stages: image selection, schematization, and encoding. Methodologically, we conducted data elicitation with animal picture cards presented to deaf participants from Maceió. The experiment included five male and five female deaf individuals, all students in the Libras Language and Literature program, who viewed the images and produced signs in Libras of what they saw. We selected four animals (dog, cat, bird, and monkey) and subdivided them into eight subordinate items based on the model by Santos (2018). Additionally, we chose 32 items likely to be lexicalized signs, categorizing them as basic items, along with 32 distractor items featuring less familiar animals. Among the 32 items chosen for probable lexicalized signaling, we analyzed 17 (e.g., lion, ox, zebra) that received at least six identical responses. The analysis was divided into basic (hypernym) and subordinate (hyponym) items. Basic items were mostly monolexical, with images directly related to the animal and schematization focused on body parts and head, while encoding used schematic topographic space with iconic movement for location and partial entity hand configurations. Subordinate signs, in contrast, were characterized by compositions juxtaposing the hypernym with a lexical or representational modifying sign, along with image selection focused on descriptions (color, size, fur, hands). Encoding also emphasized schematic topographic space and partial entity hand configurations. The results indicate that iconicity permeates the entire categorization and subordination process, highlighting similarities between the construction of already lexicalized basic signs and the newly created subordinate signs in Libras.