Where are the four parts of the sign where?

Answer 1

There are many sign languages around the world.There are three primary types in the United states alone. The answer below is ASL (i.e American sign Language, or Ameslan), which is the broadest form of sign languages in the United States of America.

The four parts of a sign in American Sign Language (ASL or Ameslan) include handshape, signing area, hand movement and palm position. If any of these change, so does the meaning of the sign.

1. Handshape: A handshape is the configuration of the hand during a particular sign. For example, many handshapes correspond with manual letters (initilized classifiers) and numbers (numerical classifiers). But not all signs have a directly relatable handhape as a classifier, but rely more on one or several of the other three parts of the sign to direct the meaning. A sign with the same location, movement and palm position can actually mean different things, depending on the handshape. For example, motioning your hand in a circular, palm-in position over your chest area can mean "please" (with an open palm handshape) or "sorry" (with an "a" or "S" handshape).

2. Signing area: The same sign can also mean different things depending on its location. (for example, the sign for "Mother" is identical to the sign for "Father" except that the signing area for "Mother" is at (or on) the chin area, and the sign for "Father" is located at (or on) the forehead. With few exceptions, the signing area itself is generally an imaginary rectangle that is slightly extended from shoulder-width and extends from slightly above the top of the head to just below the waist. Most signs are made in the area just below the face, head and neck. This area is considered "neutral" space in ASL.

3. & 4. (3.)Movement (aka Sign-Motion) and (4.) Palm position (aka Palm Orientation): A sign can mean one thing if the hand is still, and another if it's moved in a certain way. The same goes for which way the palm is facing (in toward yourself, out toward the other person, sideways, up or down etc.).

So the four parts to the ASL sign for "where" are as follows:

1. Handhape: "One" {DOMINANT PART}

2. Signing Area: Variable or Neutral Space

3. Movement: Wiggle, left and right repeatedly. {DOMINANT PART}

4. Palm Position: Variable (but never backward}, or Palm Foreward (facing away from the signer.)

Note: That all signs have four parts. But also note that all signs have at least one of these parts that absolutely cannot be changed, or the meaning changes. For example for this sign changing the motion {#3} may change the sign to mean "up, him or her, his, or her, or it." This means that all signs have at least one dominant part within the four part system. I enbolded the terms you would probably find in an ASL description in an academeic ASL book.