KWIC view on Constructed Action (CA) and its Collocates in German Sign Language (DGS) – Possibilities and Limitations

Sabrina Wähl


Abstract
Constructed action (CA) is a phenomenon that is used in signed discourse to show the actions of a referent (cf. Cormier et al., 2015; for DGS, cf. Fischer and Kollien, 2010). To achieve this, the signer adopts the role of the referent. Most studies use retellings as their data base (e.g. Herrmann and Pendzich, 2018; Cormier et al., 2015). Consequently, there is less research on CA and its use in data that is not influenced by stimuli. Though there is a considerable number of studies on CA, the phenomenon is still not well understood. One possible way to understand this multifaceted phenomenon better is to analyse collocations in conversations. In spoken language lexicography concordance lines – also known as keyword in context (KWIC) – have proven to be a useful tool in the analysis of collocations. The data used in this study are Free conversations in the Public DGS Corpus. This paper explores the possibilities and limitations of concordance lines as a tool to analyse collocational behaviour of CA. It also presents preliminary results regarding CA and its collocates, which may be explored further in the future.
Anthology ID:
2026.signlang-1.50
Volume:
Proceedings of the LREC 2026 12th Workshop on the Representation and Processing of Sign Languages: Language in Motion
Month:
May
Year:
2026
Address:
Palma, Mallorca (Spain)
Editors:
Eleni Efthimiou, Stavroula-Evita Fotinea, Thomas Hanke, Julie A. Hochgesang, Johanna Mesch, Marc Schulder
Venues:
SignLang | WS
SIG:
Publisher:
ELRA Language Resources Association (ELRA)
Note:
Pages:
484–490
Language:
External URL:
https://lrec.elra.info/lrec2026-ws-signlang-50
DOI:
10.63317/57tm3w2rr3ko
Bibkey:
Cite (ACL):
Sabrina Wähl. 2026. KWIC view on Constructed Action (CA) and its Collocates in German Sign Language (DGS) – Possibilities and Limitations. In Proceedings of the LREC 2026 12th Workshop on the Representation and Processing of Sign Languages: Language in Motion, pages 484–490, Palma, Mallorca (Spain). ELRA Language Resources Association (ELRA).
Cite (Informal):
KWIC view on Constructed Action (CA) and its Collocates in German Sign Language (DGS) – Possibilities and Limitations (Wähl, SignLang 2026)
Copy Citation: