ABSTRACT
In BSL, body classifiers appear with a specific set o f two-part verb constructions, which make use o f a switch between the perspective o f two referents, where the agent and patient are not co-referential. The second part o f this construction encodes the shift, using what has been called a body classifier in the literature and that we here propose to call a body location. The shift is present even where the agent and patient are co-referential, where a backward movement o f the signer’s body or head signals the patient role. We describe how this construction poses specific problems for children acquiring BSL related to the demands o f reference marking and switching.
