Auslan: First Language Learner F–10 Sequence / Levels 7 and 8 / Understanding / Systems of language
Content description
Understand that utterances in Auslan can consist of a mix of gestural and signed components, and that non-manual features are often used to link clauses into equal or unequal relationships
Elaborations
recognising the nature and function of word classes and understanding that the context of the sign is important and Auslan signs will not always have the same word class as an English word, for example, adjectives can act like verbs in Auslan, for example, PRO3 BIG
recognising that some verbs and nouns use the same sign but change the movement in a regular way making noun-verb pairs, such as SCISSORS versus CUT-WITH-SCISSORS
being able to describe various types of clauses and recognising that these often co-occur with particular NMFs, such as questions, topicalised sentences, negation or conditionals
analysing yes/no questions and wh- questions to identify how NMFs and particular lexical signs are used to make each type of question
recognising how NMFs can create emphasis or stress
recognising that clauses can be joined by conjunctions to make longer sentences and these conjunctions can be shown with separate signs, such as PLUS or THEN, or NMFs, for example by pausing between clauses
noticing with support, when signers are using composite utterances, that is, those that have elements of CA, DSs, points and DSs, and fully-lexical signs in the same utterance
identifying clauses that are linked equally and unequally, where one clause depends on another
