Norm emergence in German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS): reconstruction of Enregisterment processes in the DGS community

该项目旨在确定哪些语言特征表明德语手语(Deutsche Gebärdensprache，DGS)中的标准规范，并试图探索在德国手语社区中出现标准手语规范的过程中社会和语言因素之间的相互作用。尽管DGS中没有一个编纂的标准规范，但与语言规范出现相关的关键特征正在不断演变。其中包括不断扩大的手语教学和学习领域，以及由于信息和通信技术部门最近的发展，使视频数据能够通过互联网轻松传输，示范手语者和示范文本的能见度增加。来自现有语料库的经验数据以及将从重点小组产生的新的语言和元语言数据构成了该项目的核心。从定量和定性两个方面对数据进行分析，通过将Agha(2005)的登记概念和Silverstein(2003)的索引性顺序结合在一起，对数据进行了概念性解释。通过这一新的理论方法，该项目将在视觉空间语言的标准规范涌现领域产生新的知识，从而为关于标准语言规范涌现的既定理论在多大程度上确实独立于情态的问题提供了一种新的、有经验的视角。

The project aims at determining, which linguistic features indicate standard norms in German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS) and seeks to explore the interplay between social and linguistic factors in the emergence of standard sign language norms accepted and recognised within the German Sign Language community. Despite the absence of a codified standard norm in DGS, key features associated with language norm emergence are constantly evolving. These include a growing domain of sign language teaching and learning and an increase in the visibility of model signers and model texts due to recent developments in the information and communication technology sector, which allow for easy transmission of video data via the internet. Both empirical data derived from already existing language corpora as well as new linguistic and meta-linguistic data to be generated from focus groups form the core of the project. Analysing the data in both quantitative and qualitative terms, the data are conceptually interpreted by bringing together Agha`s (2005) concept of enregisterment and Silverstein`s (2003) order of indexicality. Through this new theoretical approach the project will generate new knowledge in the area of standard norm emergence in visual-spatial languages and thereby contribute a fresh, empirically grounded, perspective on the question to what extent established theories on standard language norms emergence are indeed modality independent.