Argument Markers in Georgian Sign Language (GESL)

Abstract

The cornerstone of any language is the structure of a verb and its arguments, comprising the subject and objects. Spoken languages primarily encode this structure using mechanisms such as word order, verb agreement, and case markers. In contrast, sign languages generally lack morphological case marking. This makes the tendency of Georgian Sign Language to employ multiple markers for encoding arguments particularly intriguing. The argument markers discussed in the article have grammaticalized from different sources and exhibit varying restrictions. The study emphasizes the importance of considering the presence of such argument markers when analyzing verb agreement and argument structure patterns in sign languages.