Depiction of events in ASL: Conceptual integration of temporal components

This dissertation is an examination of a type of iconicity in ASL involving temporality as exhibited in the depiction of events. Surrogate blends are known as resulting from mapping components of a given mental space onto signer's bodies and the surrounding space. In such blends, the time progression associated with the event being depicted can be mapped onto Real Time, e.g. the time in which spoken or signed utterances are produced. This mapping of distinct temporal components results in an unique blended component which I call depicting time. The examination of the role of such mappings is relevant to a general understanding of surrogate blends in language. However, the relationship between Real Time and depicting time is shown to be necessarily and importantly different for signed languages than for spoken languages. During surrogate blends in ASL that have depicting time, most manual or nonmanual gestures not understood to be produced by the signer as surrogate need to have associations with depicting time; otherwise depicting time is necessarily suspended. Depicting time is shown to be a component of not only certain ASL verbs, but of other constructions as well. The schematic aspectual construction that serves as an input in the creation of aspectual forms of verbs has this component. As a result, many aspectual forms of verbs which are seen to inherit depicting time from the aspectual construction are also seen to activate a surrogate blend. Similar observations are made for other, more complex constructions examined in this dissertation. The expectation-fulfillment construction, where the signer as surrogate is depicted as performing an event in anticipation of a second event, has a backward head nod and a widening of the face that marks the punctual occurrence of the second event. This set of non-manual signals is also understood to indicate the existence of a mental space of the surrogate's recognition of the anticipated event. In descriptions of a gradual change of state or the completion of an event, a slow head nod is produced prior to the end of the construction. Another gradual change of state construction involves a slower backward head nod and a transitioning between two different facial expressions. In all these constructions, it is crucial that depicting time proceeds unbroken and that the nonmanual signals be compatible with depicting time. Examination of the semantics of these constructions allows us to consider how ASL expresses resultativity, which is also addressed in this dissertation.