On (in)definite expressions in American Sign Language

This paper provides an analysis of the properties and distribution of the pointing
sign ix and bare NPs in American Sign Language. I argue that ix followed by an NP
when referring to a previously established locus is a strong definite article along the
lines of Schwarz (2009; 2013). This claim goes contra previous analyses that draw
parallels between ix and demonstratives (Koulidobrova & Lillo-Martin 2016). The
data presented here also show that both bare NPs and ix+NPs double as definites
and indefinites, which suggests that definiteness is not semantically encoded in the
language. I further illustrate that the interaction of the use of bare NPs and ix+NPs
indicates that the specification of a locus has an impact on the interpretation of an
expression as being definite or indefinite. An ix+NP cannot refer back to a bare NP
in the discourse due to the underspecification of a locus feature that characterizes
bare NPs. These findings allow me to reanalyze the properties of the two kinds of
nominals in the language.