Abstract:In this article, we examine various strategies used to express cardinal numbers in Yucatec Maya Sign Languages (YMSLs) from three historically unrelated communities in Yucatán, Mexico: Chicán, Nohkop, and Cepeda Peraza. Our findings describe some numeral strategies, which remained unattested in previous accounts, and demonstrate that YMSL numerals exhibit patterns of systematic inter- and intracommunity variation as a result of linguistic and sociolinguistic factors. These patterns are still in process of becoming solidified and a high level of individual variation persists. The analysis of numerals in YMSLs provides us with an excellent opportunity to observe the emergence of sociolinguistic variation in young village sign languages.Our study is based on data from elicitation, natural conversations, and interviews, and takes into account several aspects: the influence of Yucatec Maya gestures on the formation of YMSL numeral signs, the regional and intracommunity distribution of numeral signs and numeral strategies, the impact of literacy on YMSL number expression, the existence of familylects and community members' language attitudes. Finally, we discuss some methodological challenges to studying variation in rural sign languages.

中文翻译：

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Yucatec 玛雅手语的数字变化

摘要：在本文中，我们研究了用于在墨西哥尤卡坦州三个历史上不相关的社区（奇坎、Nohkop 和 Cepeda Peraza）的尤卡坦玛雅手语 (YMSL) 中表达基数的各种策略。我们的研究结果描述了一些数字策略，这些策略在以前的帐户中仍未得到证实，并证明 YMSL 数字表现出由于语言和社会语言因素而导致的系统性社区间和社区内变异模式。这些模式仍处于固化过程中，高度的个体差异仍然存在。对 YMSL 中数字的分析为我们提供了观察年轻乡村手语中社会语言变异出现的绝佳机会。我们的研究基于启发、自然对话和访谈的数据，并考虑了几个方面：Yucatec Maya手势对YMSL数字符号形成的影响，数字符号和数字策略的区域和社区分布，识字对YMSL数字表达的影响，家庭成员和社区成员的存在语言态度。最后，我们讨论了研究农村手语变异的一些方法论挑战。