PALM-UP in Russian Sign Language

This study examines the form, function, and linguistic status of palm-up in Russian Sign Language (RSL), revealing a unified discursive mechanism underlying its seemingly diverse functions. Analysis of its occurrences in spontaneous narratives demonstrates that all palm-up uses share the core metaphor of “information as an object placed on an open palm”. The form occurs in two primary spatial configurations: a lateral variant tied to the signer’s egocentric space (e.g., expressing opinions or lack of knowledge) and a presenting variant oriented toward communicative space (e.g., addressing the interlocutor or introducing referents). palm-up in RSL narratives exhibits variable syntactic behavior depending on contextual conditions, particularly the ability to form independent discourse units (paraclausal or regulatory). Certain non-manual markers accompanying palm-up and their combinations (eyebrow and eye movements, head/body shifts) show systematic correlations with its pragmatic functions, while lip configuration (tight and stretched) appears to be an obligatory component of palm-up’s inherent structure. The analysis further demonstrates that palm-up in RSL has the linguistic status of a sign (rather than a gesture), albeit a special one: it functions similarly to discourse markers in spoken languages.