Conventionalization of size-and-shape specifiers in Zinacantec Family Homesign

Abstract This study examines size-and-shape specifiers (SASSes) in Zinacantec Family Homesign (‘Z sign’), an emerging sign language developed by three deaf siblings and their hearing family members in an indigenous community of Mexico. SASSes depict the visual attributes of objects via a hand configuration that portrays some aspect of the form of an entity and are considered by some scholars to incorporate both “linguistic” and “gestural” properties. The iconic nature of SASSes, and their putative gestural components, raise questions about their functions in newly-developed sign languages like Z sign. This study explores whether there are language-specific conventions that constrain the use of SASSes in Z sign. The findings indicate that SASSes constitute a highly conventionalized component of the lexicon, characterized by a hierarchical, paradigmatic organization not observed in the gestures produced by older hearing relatives of the deaf individuals who are not fluent signers. This study contributes to the scant body of literature on SASSes, their putative relationship to “gesture”, and sheds light on the process by which signers can marshal raw iconic materials in the creation of a lexicon.