Handshape: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Aspect of sign languages}} |
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'''Handshape''' refers to specific shapes formed with your hand(s) that are used in signed languages and manual communication methods such as [[ASL|American Sign Language]], other international signed languages, [[Signed Exact English]], and [[cued speech]] among others. |
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{{Globalize||United States|date=March 2023}} |
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==Handshapes in ASL== |
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<br> |
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Handshape is used along with orientation, movement and location (and sometimes hold, and sometimes non-manual markers) to describe a sign. Every sign must have a unique set of handshape, orientation, location and movement. |
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{{Distinguish|Handshake}} |
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In [[sign language]]s, '''handshape''', or '''dez''', refers to the distinctive configurations that the hands take as they are used to form words.<ref name="Tennant&Brown">{{cite book | vauthors = Tennant RA, Gluszak M, Brown MG | title = The American sign language handshape dictionary. | year = 1998 | publisher = Gallaudet University Press |isbn=1-56368-043-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americansignlang00tenn/page/407 407] |url=https://archive.org/details/americansignlang00tenn |url-access=registration |quote=Handshape. }}</ref> In [[William Stokoe|Stokoe]] terminology it is known as the {{sc|dez}}, an abbreviation of ''designator''. Handshape is one of five components of a sign, along with [[location (sign language)|location]] ({{sc|tab}}), [[orientation (sign language)|orientation]] ({{sc|ori}}), [[movement (sign language)|movement]] ({{sc|sig}}), and [[Nonmanual feature|nonmanual features]]. Different sign languages make use of different handshapes. |
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== Constraints == |
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[[American Sign Language]] uses the [[American Manual Alphabet]] for fingerspelling. The AMA contains 23 handshapes (orientation differences allow the formation of 26 letters); there are many more handshapes that are not used in the AMA. In total, there are about 150 handshapes, though not all are commonly used. (J. McDougal, personal communication, September 12, 2006. Interpreted simultaneously by staff interpreter from ASL to English.) |
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Possible handshapes are constrained by a variety of mechanic and neural factors. [[Evolution|Evolutionary]] forces have led to some handshapes being easier or more natural for humans to produce than others. These tendencies can be summarized as follows:<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Miozzo M, Peressotti F | title = How the hand has shaped sign languages | journal = Scientific Reports | volume = 12 | issue = 1 | pages = 11980 | date = July 2022 | pmid = 35831441 | pmc = 9279340 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-022-15699-1 }}</ref> |
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# The selected (extended) finger is either the thumb or the index finger |
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# Neighboring fingers are coupled |
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# All fingers have the same shape |
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A 2022 study of handshapes found that 85.6% of handshapes in 33 sign languages conform to these biological tendencies. Additionally, 35 handshapes were found to be represented in 89.2% of the 33 languages examined. Handshapes that did not conform to these tendencies were common in [[fingerspelling]]. This may be due to fingerspelling being a result of culture and explicit learning rather than arising naturally.<ref name=":0" /> |
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==In American Sign Language== |
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[[File:Sign language interpreter.jpg|thumb|160px|right|A sign language interpreter at a presentation. The two handshapes are the flat (B) hand and the tapered (O or M) hand.]] |
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{{main|American Sign Language phonology}} |
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[[American Sign Language]] uses 18 handshapes for ordinary signs, plus a few marginal handshapes taken from the [[American Manual Alphabet]] for fingerspelling.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Stokoe WC, Casterline DC, Croneberg CG | title = A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. | publisher = Linstok Press | date = 1976 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=source is severely outdated|date=July 2022}} |
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| ⚫ | Not all handshapes occur with every orientation, movement, or location: there are restrictions. For example, the 5 and F handshapes (the approximate shapes of the hand in fingerspelling 5 and F) only make contact with another part of the body through the tip of the thumb, whereas the K and 8 (a.k.a. Y) handshapes only make contact through the tip of the middle finger, and the X handshape only with the flexed joint of the index finger.{{Citation needed|reason=information might be outdated|date=June 2023}} |
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== See also == |
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* [[Classifier handshape]] |
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== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{sign language navigation}} |
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Latest revision as of 19:51, 31 October 2023
 | The examples and perspective in this deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (March 2023) |
In sign languages, handshape, or dez, refers to the distinctive configurations that the hands take as they are used to form words.[1] In Stokoe terminology it is known as the DEZ, an abbreviation of designator. Handshape is one of five components of a sign, along with location (TAB), orientation (ORI), movement (SIG), and nonmanual features. Different sign languages make use of different handshapes.
Constraints
[edit]Possible handshapes are constrained by a variety of mechanic and neural factors. Evolutionary forces have led to some handshapes being easier or more natural for humans to produce than others. These tendencies can be summarized as follows:[2]
- The selected (extended) finger is either the thumb or the index finger
- Neighboring fingers are coupled
- All fingers have the same shape
A 2022 study of handshapes found that 85.6% of handshapes in 33 sign languages conform to these biological tendencies. Additionally, 35 handshapes were found to be represented in 89.2% of the 33 languages examined. Handshapes that did not conform to these tendencies were common in fingerspelling. This may be due to fingerspelling being a result of culture and explicit learning rather than arising naturally.[2]
In American Sign Language
[edit]
American Sign Language uses 18 handshapes for ordinary signs, plus a few marginal handshapes taken from the American Manual Alphabet for fingerspelling.[3][better source needed]
Not all handshapes occur with every orientation, movement, or location: there are restrictions. For example, the 5 and F handshapes (the approximate shapes of the hand in fingerspelling 5 and F) only make contact with another part of the body through the tip of the thumb, whereas the K and 8 (a.k.a. Y) handshapes only make contact through the tip of the middle finger, and the X handshape only with the flexed joint of the index finger.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Tennant RA, Gluszak M, Brown MG (1998). The American sign language handshape dictionary. Gallaudet University Press. pp. 407. ISBN 1-56368-043-2.
Handshape.
- ^ a b Miozzo M, Peressotti F (July 2022). "How the hand has shaped sign languages". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 11980. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-15699-1. PMC 9279340. PMID 35831441.
- ^ Stokoe WC, Casterline DC, Croneberg CG (1976). A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. Linstok Press.
