Il nome al vocativo in Lingua dei Segni Italiana (LIS): esito del contatto con la lingua vocale?

It has been observed that in the Italian Sign Language (LIS), as well as in many other sign languages, the «name sign» is used to identify a person, just like a proper name; it is assigned when entering the deaf community (RUSSO CARDONA / VOLTERRA 2007). In this article, we focus on the vocative function of the name, on the possibility of using the name to address a specific receiver and to select him/her (MAZZOLENI 1995). It has been noted that in various sign languages, for example in the American Sign Language (SUPALLA 1992), the name sign has no vocative function even though it allows for reference to a third person. In order to attract attention, strategies which rely on the addressee’s sight are used, for instance waving a hand (HOZA 2011). However, we wonder if the vocative in the LIS is completely absent or if in some specific contexts it can still be found, probably due to the particular sociolinguistic situation of contact with the vocal language. The study is conducted taking into account two kinds of data: on the one hand narratives performed by deaf people, on the other hand translations from the vocal language into the sign language.