Vertical representation of quantifier domains

Abstract

We show via American Sign Language (ASL) productions of singular indefinites, plural pronouns, and negative quantifiers that ASL can use space to convey set size and quantifier domain restriction, and moreover, that sets are interpreted as increasingly larger as they are signed higher in space. Such overt markings of domain size are more than simply emphatic, participating in adverbial quantifier binding and exhibiting more systematicity than emphasis in English. We discuss our findings in light of previous research on the semantic use of sign height in ASL, and speculate on the origin of such a strategy in sign languages.