Numeral Incorporation in Polish Sign Language (PJM): A Cognitive Grammar Perspective

Abstract: In this study, we investigate numeral incorporation in Polish Sign Language (polski język migowy, henceforth PJM). Numeral incorporation occurs when both the nominal referent and the information about the number are expressed simultaneously in a single sign. The study has two main objectives. First, it aims to draw attention to the underexplored area of simultaneous morphology in sign languages in general, and in PJM in particular. To this end, the first part of the article provides an overview of PJM signs that incorporate numerals across various lexical fields. Second, the study demonstrates that methodological tools originally developed for spoken languages can be just as effective—or even more so—in analyzing sign languages. In the second part of the article, we frame our analysis of numeral incorporation in PJM within Ronald Langacker's (2008) cognitive grammar (CG) paradigm. Specifically, we argue that, from the perspective of CG, incorporated numerals can be viewed as composite expressions, where on the conceptual level the valence relation between the constituents is essentially that of modification, whose paradigmatic phonic examples are nominals with adjectival modifiers (e.g., green apple ).