[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-278101-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":81,"doc-detail-278101-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","on-indefinite-expressions-in-american-sign-language-chapter-4-analysis","On (in)definite expressions in American Sign Language - Chapter 4 - Analysis","","This chapter analyzes the properties and distribution of the pointing sign ix and bare noun phrases (bare NPs) in American Sign Language. The argument proposes that ix followed by a noun phrase referring to a previously established locus functions as a strong definite article. The chapter further shows that both bare NPs and ix+NPs can serve as definites and indefinites, indicating that definiteness is not semantically encoded. It also explains how locus specification constrains discourse reference and affects definite versus indefinite interpretation.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/paper-templates/","Paper Templates",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/on-indefinite-expressions-in-american-sign-language-chapter-4-analysis/278101/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/on-indefinite-expressions-in-american-sign-language-chapter-4-analysis/278101.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jiven","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-07","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What role does the pointing sign ix play in American Sign Language definiteness?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The chapter argues that ix followed by an NP can act like a strong definite article when the NP refers to a previously established locus.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Can bare NPs and ix+NPs both express definiteness and indefiniteness?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Yes. The data presented show that both bare NPs and ix+NPs can double as definites and indefinites.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does locus specification affect interpretation in the discourse?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The chapter claims that the specification of a locus influences whether an expression is interpreted as definite or indefinite, and that an ix+NP cannot refer back to a bare NP due to underspecification of a locus feature.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},278101,1789506983,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,89,94,99,104,109,114,119,123],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":90,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":95,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":100,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":105,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":110,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":115,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":120,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},21,5,"papers-templates",{"id":124,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":126},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":128},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":129,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":22,"category_id":120,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":112,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":95},1099513958607,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002390cf8733938c?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778829742770036399","Chapter 4  \nOn (in)definite expressions in American Sign Language  \nAva Irani  \nUniversity of Pennsylvania  \nThis paper provides an analysis of the properties and distribution of the pointing sign ix and bare NPs in American Sign Language. I argue that ix followed by an NP when referring to a previously established locus is a strong definite article along the lines of Schwarz (2009; 2013) . This claim goes contra previous analyses that draw parallels between ix and demonstratives (Koulidobrova & Lillo-Martin 2016) . The data presented here also show that both bare NPs and ix+NPs double as definitesand indefinites, which suggests that definiteness is not semantically encoded in the language. I further illustrate that the interaction of the use of bare NPs and ix+NPs indicates that the specification of a locus has an impact on the interpretation of an expression as being definite or indefinite. An ix+NP cannot refer back to a bare NPin the discourse due to the underspecification of a locus feature that characterizes bare NPs. These findings allow me to reanalyze the properties of the two kinds of nominals in the language.  \n1 Introduction  \nDefinite and indefinite expressions in natural language are two widespread components of communication. Despite their ubiquitous presence, the way in which each language conveys these expressions can vary. For instance, English indefinites are typically viewed as being introduced by the article a, while the precedes definite NPs. The distinction does not stop there. Schwarz (2009) observes that languages can further divide categories of definite expressions into those that encode uniqueness and those that are anaphoric and familiar. There are also languages like Hindi, which lack overt determiners altogether. These types of languages have ensued a claim that their bare nominal expressions lack a DP layer,  \nAva Irani. 2019. On (in)definite expressions in American Sign Language. In Ana Aguilar-Guevara, Julia Pozas Loyo & Violeta Vázquez-Rojas Maldonado (eds.), Definiteness across languages, 113–151 . Berlin: Language Science Press.  \nDOI:10. 5281/zenodo.3252018    \nAva Irani  \nas they do not encode pure indefinite readings (Dayal 2004) . And finally, there has been a plethora of research at least since the late 1800s on the properties of definite and indefinite expressions in discourse (Frege 1892; Russell 1905; Kamp 1981; Heim 1982, i.a.). In this paper, I investigate a language that contributes to the discussion on definiteness in varying respects, while simultaneously allowing us to examine natural language expressed via a different modality.  \nAmerican Sign Language (ASL) is generally claimed to be a language without overt determiners, but it signifies the relationship between nominal expressionsin more than one manner. Nominal phrases can be expressed as bare NPs, or they can alsobe set up at locations in signing space through the use of loci. A language with more than one way of conveying nominals introduces another dimension in the goal to understand the realization of definite and indefinite reference in language.  \nSign languages have been of interest in examining various linguistic phenomena due to their use of a different medium of communication and the visibility that signs provide to language through the use of this modality. Despite sign language research gaining momentum since Stokoe’s initial work in the 1960s, much work is left to be done in terms of thoroughly describing fundamental aspects of these languages. This paper aims to deepen our knowledge of the array of possible alternatives through which definite and indefinite referents can be expressed.  \nAlthough recent work has shown interest in definite NPs in ASL, there has been some disagreement in the literature in determining their status (Bahan et al. 1995; Koulidobrova & Lillo-Martin 2016) . Definiteness in ASL has been said to be expressed via the index marker, glossed as ix1 (Bahan et al. 1995), despite indexing and ","cbCaiuZ5BBVI3ver","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuZ5BBVI3ver","pdf",308739,"English","# 1 Introduction\n## Definite and indefinite expressions in natural language\n## American Sign Language and nominal reference\n# Data and judgments\n## Native signers and grammaticality tasks","[{\"question\":\"What role does the pointing sign ix play in American Sign Language definiteness?\",\"answer\":\"The chapter argues that ix followed by an NP can act like a strong definite article when the NP refers to a previously established locus.\"},{\"question\":\"Can bare NPs and ix+NPs both express definiteness and indefiniteness?\",\"answer\":\"Yes. The data presented show that both bare NPs and ix+NPs can double as definites and indefinites.\"},{\"question\":\"How does locus specification affect interpretation in the discourse?\",\"answer\":\"The chapter claims that the specification of a locus influences whether an expression is interpreted as definite or indefinite, and that an ix+NP cannot refer back to a bare NP due to underspecification of a locus feature.\"}]","On (in)definite expressions in American Sign Language - Chapter 4 - Analysis | PDF"]