Visual Prosody in Korean Sign Language: (Non)manual Cues for Boundary and Prominence

Jungah LeeYoungju Choi^*

• Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

This study investigates the roles of manual and nonmanual features in Korean Sign Language (KSL) prosody, focusing on how they mark prominence and prosodic boundaries. In this study, the term "boundary" refers specifically to the accentual phrase (AP), which serves as the relevant domain when focused elements are involved. Using Bayesian mixed-effects modeling, we analyzed (non)manual articulations across prominence conditions (focused vs. unfocused) and boundary positions (AP-initial vs. AP-medial). The results revealed that prominence exerted a strong and consistent influence on (non)manual feature use. Cues such as eye contact, furrowed eyebrows, squinted eyes, and wide eyes were significantly more frequent in focused conditions, regardless of boundary position. In contrast, the effects of boundary position were limited, with most (non)manual features showing no significant differences between AP-initial and AP-medial contexts. Although a statistically significant interaction between prominence and boundary position was observed, individual (non)manual features did not consistently exhibit such interaction patterns, suggesting that the influence of prominence is largely independent of boundary position. The current study highlights that, in KSL, various (non)manual cues primarily serve as markers of prominence, whereas boundary-related cues—especially at the level of the AP—play a secondary role in prosodic organization.