ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some preliminary results o f a research project that investigate the inherent semantic characteristics o f the classifier predicates o f Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL). The analysis is based on Talmy’s (1985,2000) concept o f motion events and how certain fundamental semantic categories o f a motion event are incorporated into the predicates o f natural language. Talmy argued that a motion event can be analyzed as having four basic semantic categories: FIGURE, MOTION, PATH, GROUND. This event is also said to be associated with an external co-event that consists o f semantic categories such as MANNER and CA USE. Languages display differences in mapping these categories onto the surface constructions. This chapter examines the lexicalization process in verbs o f motion and location in HKSL, with particular reference to how the four semantic categories and the co-event MANNER are mapped onto these verbs. The paper argues that HKSL can be regarded as a FIGURE-type language because M OTION and FIGURE are consistently conflated in the morphological derivation o f the classifier predicate.
