Abstract:
This study is aimed at grouping noun and verb pairs in Thai sign language (TSL) and also at investigating the semantic relationships between noun and verb pairs of each group. The data, signing by deaf Thais, are collected in video tape following the list of noun and verb pairs gathered. By analyzing distinctive features, there are 2 groups of TSL noun-verb pairs. The distinctive features of noun and verb pairs are hand movements and /or non-manual signals. In 80% of the pairs, the difference between nouns and verbs is expressed in both hand movements and non-manual signals. Another group of noun-verb pairs, or about 20% are distinguished by non-manual signals only. Nouns in both groups can have non-manual signals. If only non-manual signals are considered, nouns have less degree of non-manual signals than verbs. Nouns in group 1 are also distinct from verbs by having reduplicated form with restrained manner. While both manual and non-manual signals can play a role in distinguishing, non-manual signual signals are more important. The hypothesis that the 2 features must be used together in distinguishing noun and verb pairs is thus not attested. The research found 5 semantic relationships of noun and verb pairs. The most found is instrumental followed by patient, object, actor and range. The semantic relationships of TSL noun and verb pairs are different within groups, which is not as hypothesized. The semantic relationships of TSL noun and verb pairs are the differrent among groups, which is as hypothesized. noun and verb pairs can be further divided in classes according to reduplication, manner, presence and degree of non-manual signals. Verbs have more classes than nouns. Thus nouns are most probably derived from verbs by applying rules, such as restrained manner, reduplication of hand movements and deleting or lessening the degree of non-manual signals.