Noun/Verb Pairs in Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS)

The present work provides the evidence for a measurable distinction between members of formationally related Noun/Verb Pairs in ÖGS. Like similar investigations in other sign languages, such as American (ASL), Australian (Auslan) and British (BSL), this empirical study investigates nouns and verbs of related pairs in ÖGS from several perspectives. The primary investigation focuses on the movement component of signs, which is identified as the major differentiating factor between related nouns and verbs. The study also briefly examines nonmanual markers and the adjacent lexical categories of nouns and verbs in context. The findings are compared with the distinctions reported for other sign languages and show that ÖGS also follows the distinction model that other sign languages use for distinguishing between related nouns and verbs, in particular, distinctions in the movement components of signs. The formational difference between related ÖGS nouns and verbs is systematically shown in their duration, with verbs substantially longer in duration than their comparable nouns. It is not known whether this observed difference will generalize to the wider comparison of ÖGS unrelated verbs and nouns.