ASL Discourse, Pragmatics, and Depiction
Domain 2: ASL Discourse, Pragmatics, and Depiction
This domain tests how ASL creates meaning in interaction: attention-getting, turn-taking, register, politeness, and depictive constructions. Items may present a short scenario and ask which behavior is culturally or linguistically appropriate.
Interactional norms
Before signing, get attention visually: wave in the peripheral field, tap the shoulder or arm, flash lights, or vibrate a table. Eye contact is a regulator: looking away can signal a turn is finished, while holding gaze can claim a turn. Signers use hold/release signals, pauses, and head nods to manage overlap. In formal settings, wait to be acknowledged; in casual Deaf spaces, direct contact is normal.
Register and politeness
Register shifts with audience and setting. Formal ASL favors complete clauses, explicit referents, and controlled space; casual ASL uses more ellipsis, slang, and rapid role shift. Politeness is often direct rather than indirect: asking a personal question is not automatically rude if the relationship permits it. Name signs are assigned within the Deaf community, not self-invented, and are not simply fingerspelled nicknames.
Depiction
Depiction includes classifier predicates, size-and-shape specifiers, handling classifiers, and constructed action (role shift). A signer may become a character by shifting the torso and gaze, then return to narrator stance. Spatial mapping must stay consistent: if a referent is placed on the right, later mentions must point to the right. Depiction is not decoration; it carries lexical and grammatical information.
Worked example
Goal: sign 'The car barely squeezed through the narrow alley.' A strong response uses an entity classifier for the vehicle (CL:3) moving along a constrained path, with the non-dominant hand representing the alley wall, slowed movement, and a tense facial expression. Reasoning: the classifier tracks the car's path, the off-hand sets the boundary, and the non-manual marker conveys 'barely.' Fingerspelling A-L-L-E-Y or signing NARROW alone would describe the scene but not depict the event.
Traps
Using English mouthing as a substitute for ASL grammar; shifting role without a clear body shift; abandoning established spatial referents; overusing initialized signs where a classifier is needed; assuming direct questions are always impolite.