DOMINANCE SHIFT IN DIFFERENT COMMUNICATIVE SITUATIONS IN LIBRAS

Abstract

According to Battison (1978), signers are observed, in some situations, to use their non-dominant hand to perform the functions normally performed by the dominant hand in signing. The goal of this work is to advance Gabardo and Xavier’s (2019) study on this phenomenon in libras, referred as to dominance shift. In addition, we aim to verify whether its frequency varies in different communicative situations, namely, free conversation, narrative and sign lists. To do so, we analyzed data from ten deaf signers from Santa Catarina, five men and five women, who are part of the National libras Inventory (Quadros et al., 2018). The results indicate that, similarly to Gabardo and Xavier (2019), dominance shift can be motivated (1) by spatial referentiality, (2) by simultaneity, that is, the production of two signs at the same time, (3) by a combination of these two factors and (4) by the phonological environment. Additionally, it was observed that (5) the unavailability of the dominant hand and (6) contrast can also motivate dominance shift. Regarding the different communicative situations in which the data were produced, a higher frequency of dominance shift was observed in narration.