5.3 ASL Morphology: Aspect, Numeral Incorporation & Derivation

Core Principle: Morphology is the study of how morphemes (the smallest meaningful units of language) combine to build words and express grammatical relationships. In ASL, morphology operates both inflectionally (internal modulations of movement, orientation, and space) and derivationally (affixation, compounding, and kinetic alteration that transform lexical categories).

Whereas spoken languages such as English predominantly utilize linear, sequential morphemes—such as adding prefixes (un-, re-) and suffixes (-ed, -ing, -s, -tion) to root stems—American Sign Language relies heavily on internal non-concatenative morphology. Rather than stringing morphemes together like beads on a necklace, ASL modulates the internal movement, spatial path, rhythmic dynamics, and handshape of base root signs to encode complex grammatical and semantic distinctions.

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1. Inflectional vs. Derivational Morphology in ASL

Linguists classify morphological processes into two broad categories:

1. Inflectional Morphology: Modifies an existing sign to express grammatical information (such as temporal aspect, grammatical person, spatial agreement, or plurality) without changing the core lexical meaning or the grammatical part of speech. For example, inflecting the verb LOOK into LOOK-CONTINUOUSLY alters how the action occurs in time, but the sign remains a verb rooted in visual perception.
2. Derivational Morphology: Creates a brand-new lexical item or transforms one grammatical category (part of speech) into another. For example, deriving the noun CHAIR from the verb SIT, fusing THINK and MARRY into the compound BELIEVE, or attaching the bound AGENT (PERSON) marker to TEACH to derive TEACHER.

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2. Temporal Aspect Inflections on Verbs and Adjectives

A critical distinction tested on the CASLI Generalist Knowledge Exam is the difference between tense and aspect:

• Tense locates an event along a chronological timeline relative to the moment of speaking (past, present, future). In ASL, tense is not marked by verb inflections; it is established syntactically through independent time signs (YESTERDAY, TOMORROW, PAST, FUTURE) or spatial placement along the imaginary sagittal timeline traversing the signer's dominant shoulder.
• Aspect describes the internal temporal structure, contour, and duration of an event—specifically, how the action unfolds across time (whether it is ongoing, customary, repeated relentlessly, or momentary).

ASL verbs and predicate adjectives undergo systematic kinetic modulations to express temporal aspect:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    ASL Temporal Aspect Inflection System                          |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Aspect Category       | Articulatory Modulation | Semantic Equivalent             |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| 1. Continual Aspect   | Smooth, elongated,      | "Doing something continuously   |
|                       | elliptical circular     | for an extended duration without|
|                       | movement without stops  | interruption" (STUDY-continual) |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| 2. Habitual Aspect    | Rapid, repeated, tense, | "Doing something regularly,     |
|                       | rhythmic bursts with    | customarily, or habitually"     |
|                       | brief, crisp pauses     | (STUDY-habitual)                |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| 3. Iterative /        | Sharp, repeated,        | "Doing something relentlessly,  |
|    Unceasing Aspect   | relentless, jarring     | incessantly, without relief"    |
|                       | thrusts; tense jaw/eyes | (WAIT-unceasingly)              |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| 4. Inceptive Aspect   | Hesitant initial hold   | "Beginning to / bursting into   |
|                       | followed by sudden,     | an action"                      |
|                       | explosive acceleration  | (CRY-inceptive)                 |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| 5. Punctual /         | Crisp single stroke with| "Completed instantaneously at   |
|    Perfective Aspect  | sharp deceleration;     | a precise point in time"        |
|                       | 'po' mouth morpheme     | (FINISH / DROP-punctual)        |
+-----------------------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+

Exemplary Aspectual Contrasts

• STUDY (Citation Form): Dominant 5 hand fluttering fingers twice toward non-dominant flat palm in neutral space.
• STUDY[continual]: The fluttering fingers execute a wide, slow, continuous circular sweep across space without pausing, accompanied by relaxed cheeks or puffed air: "studying for hours on end without a break."
• STUDY[habitual]: The fluttering fingers execute repeated, short, tense, rhythmic downward pulses with crisp returns and slight pauses between iterations, accompanied by steady head nods: "studies every single day as a matter of habit."
• SICK (Citation Form): Dominant middle finger touching forehead, non-dominant middle finger touching abdomen.
• SICK[continual]: Hands execute slow, continuous circular orbits on forehead and abdomen: "chronically ill / sick for months."
• SICK[habitual]: Hands strike forehead and abdomen repeatedly in tense, rhythmic pulses: "prone to frequent bouts of sickness / continually catching colds."

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3. Numeral Incorporation & Phonological Constraints

Numeral incorporation is a bound morphological process unique to visual-spatial languages in which a numerical morpheme blends phonologically into a root sign, producing a single, multi-morphemic sign that simultaneously conveys quantity and measurement.

Bound Roots Permitting Numeral Incorporation

In ASL, the lexical root provides the location, movement path, and palm orientation, while the numerical handshape provides the quantitative value. This process occurs across several semantic domains:

1. Temporal Measurement Units:
   • MINUTE: Base handshape 1 through 9 touching non-dominant palm and pivoting/rotating.
   • HOUR: Handshape 1 through 9 circling the perimeter of the non-dominant palm.
   • DAY: Dominant arm with handshape 1 through 9 descending across the non-dominant arm.
   • WEEK: Handshape 1 through 9 sliding forward across the flat non-dominant palm (1-WEEK, 2-WEEK, 3-WEEK).
   • MONTH: Handshape 1 through 9 sliding downward along the non-dominant index finger.
   • YEAR: Handshape 1 through 9 circling around the non-dominant fist and landing on top.
2. Monetary Units:
   • DOLLAR: Handshape 1 through 9 initiating in contact with non-dominant palm and sweeping outward with a wrist twist ($1 through $9).
3. Chronological Age:
   • AGE / YEARS-OLD: The index finger touches the chin and pulls downward, morphing immediately into the numerical handshape 1 through 9 (1-YEAR-OLD, 5-YEARS-OLD, 9-YEARS-OLD).
4. Clock Time:
   • TIME: The index finger touches the non-dominant wrist (the "time spot") and projects upward/outward into numerical handshapes 1 through 9 (1:00, 4:00, 9:00).
5. Ordinal Ranking:
   • FIRST through NINTH: Numerical handshapes twisting inward with an active wrist snap.

The Rule of 1 Through 9 and Phonological Blocking

A paramount phonological rule in ASL morphology is that numeral incorporation is strictly constrained to numbers 1 through 9.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|             The Numeral Incorporation Boundary: The Rule of 1 to 9                |
+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Incorporated (Single Multi-Morphemic)   | Sequential Compounding (Blocked 10+)    |
| Numbers 1 through 9                     | Numbers 10 and Above                    |
+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| - Handshapes 1 to 9 are static, single  | - Numbers 10+ involve internal motion   |
|   manual configurations.                |   (thumb-wiggling in 10, flicking in    |
| - Integrate seamlessly into the root    |   11-15, repeated wrist turns in 16-19, |
|   sign's movement trajectory.           |   or multi-digit sequences like 2-5).   |
| - Example: 3-WEEK (one fluid sign)      | - Cannot integrate into moving roots    |
| - Example: 5-YEAR (one fluid sign)      |   without violating phonotactic bans    |
| - Example: $7 (one fluid sign)          |   against dual simultaneous movements.  |
|                                         | - Requires two sequential signs:        |
|                                         |   `TEN` + `WEEK`; `TWELVE` + `MONTH`;   |
|                                         |   `FIFTEEN` + `YEAR`; `TWENTY` + `DOLLAR`|
+-----------------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+

• Linguistic Explanation: Handshapes 1 through 9 possess single, static finger configurations. In contrast, numbers 10 and higher possess internal movement morphemes (e.g., thumb shaking in 10, finger-flicking in 11 and 12, four-finger trembling in 15, thumb-contact rubbing in 16–19, and two-digit sequential configurations for 20 and above). Under ASL phonological constraints, a single sign cannot accommodate two independent, conflicting internal movements simultaneously (the internal movement of the number plus the root movement of the sign). Therefore, morphological incorporation is blocked, and the grammar obligates a sequential syntactic construction (TEN followed by WEEK).

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4. Derivational Morphology in ASL

Derivational morphology creates new lexical entries or alters grammatical categories through structural transformation.

1. Noun-Verb Pairs (Klima & Bellugi 1979)

In their foundational text The Signs of Language (1979), Edward Klima and Ursula Bellugi documented that ASL contains hundreds of paired nouns and verbs that share identical handshapes, locations, and palm orientations, differing exclusively in their movement parameter.

• The Derivational Rule:
  • Nouns: Articulated with repeated, small, restrained, reduplicated movements (two quick, restrained taps or pulses).
  • Verbs: Articulated with a single, larger, continuous, directional movement (one decisive stroke or continuous path).

2. Lexical Compounding Processes

Compounding occurs when two independent free morphemes are fused into a single compound lexical sign. When two signs merge into a compound in ASL, they undergo systematic phonological smoothing:

• First Contact Reduction / Hold Deletion: The terminal hold and internal repetitions of the first sign are deleted.
• Movement Epenthesis & Smoothing: The transitional movement between Sign 1 and Sign 2 becomes fluid and unified into a single continuous vector.
• Anticipatory Assimilation: The handshape of Sign 1 often anticipates the handshape or orientation of Sign 2.
• Weak Hand Deletion: If Sign 1 is two-handed and Sign 2 is one-handed, the non-dominant hand of Sign 1 is frequently dropped entirely.

Exemplary ASL Compounds:

• THINK + MARRY = BELIEVE (The index finger touches the forehead briefly without holding, then swoops immediately down to clasp the non-dominant hand in the marriage grip).
• SUN + BRIGHT / SHINE = SUNNY (The circling sun sign truncates its hold, immediately radiating downward into the expansive light sign).
• FACE + STRONG / SAME = RESEMBLE / LOOK-LIKE (The circular outline of the face transitions seamlessly into the firm strike of similarity).
• MOTHER + FATHER = PARENTS (A quick tap to the chin transitions directly into a tap to the forehead, or vice versa).
• SLEEP + SUNRISE = OVERSLEEP (Dropping the head onto the hand transitions into the sun rising past the non-dominant arm).

3. The Agentive Affix: The PERSON / AGENT Marker

In English, the derivational suffix -er turns verbs into nouns denoting the actor (teach → teacher; work → worker). In ASL, this function is performed by the AGENT (PERSON) marker—a bound derivational morpheme articulated by two flat open hands (B or open-5 handshapes) descending vertically down the sides of the torso, representing the silhouette of a standing human body.

• Agentive Derivations:

  • TEACH + AGENT = TEACHER
  • LEARN + AGENT = STUDENT
  • LAW + AGENT = LAWYER
  • INTERPRET + AGENT = INTERPRETER
  • MANAGE + AGENT = MANAGER
  • WRITE + AGENT = AUTHOR / WRITER

• Grammatical Exceptions & Historical Blocking: Not all professions accept the agentive suffix. High-frequency, historically rooted professions have distinct lexicalized signs that reject the PERSON marker. Adding the agent marker to these signs is ungrammatical:

  • DOCTOR: Tapping the non-dominant wrist with an M or bent-B handshape (DOCTOR + AGENT is ungrammatical).
  • NURSE: Tapping the non-dominant wrist with an N handshape (NURSE + AGENT is ungrammatical).
  • PRESIDENT: Grasping and pulling outward from forehead (PRESIDENT + AGENT is ungrammatical).
  • BOSS, POLICE, FIREFIGHTER: Each possesses dedicated lexical signs that do not take the agent suffix.