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German Sign Language
General Information
DEUTSCHE GEBÄRDENSPRACHE, or German Sign Language, has many regional and lexical variations and is similar to French and many others European Sign Languages. In Eastern Germany, more than one Sign Language is used. Throughout all Germany, there are about 50,000 Deaf people; of these, 22,000 are members of the German Deaf Association.Negation in DGS
DGS is a SOV language. The manual negation element NICHT ‘not’ is one of the very few signs that may follow the verb. It is an optional element and when it is used it comes at the end of the sentence. The non-manual element is an obligatory side-to-side headshake (hs) which is performed simultaneously with the verb sign. Like many spoken languages, DGS does not have a copula verb. Consequently, in sentences with adjectival or nominal predicates, the negative headshake accompanies the adjective or the noun. Example:FRAU BLUME KAUF
woman flower buy
‘The woman buys a flower.’ hs hs
FRAU BLUME KAUF (NICHT)
woman flower buy.NEG (NEG)
‘The woman does not buy a flower.’