Sign Language Studies

Abstract:

This article discusses the positioning of wh words in Modern Laos Sign Language. Research indicates that there are two common patterns for the position of wh words in spoken languages: the initial position and in situ (Dryer 2013). However, in some sign languages, it seems that wh word positioning is sentence-final, as shown in recent research (Woodward 2018) on Southeast Asian sign languages. This article discusses the positioning of wh words; some Southeast Asian sign languages have final wh word positioning, which differs from the majority of spoken languages (Dryer 2013). For instance, in the data that I have collected and analyzed from Modern Laos Sign Language, wh words always occurred at the end of the sentence. Moreover, the consultants that I interviewed rejected sentences with wh words in situ and at the beginning of sentences. This is true not only of simple subject and direct object wh questions, but also of several other grammatical structures.