User:Neilbray/new sandbox
Noun-Verb Pairs
[edit]A common observation of ASL, and other sign languages, is the phenomena of semantically related pairs of signs. These forms may bear no resemblance to the same entity expressed in the surrounding spoken language environment. These pairs of signs are often called noun-verb pairs. When interlocutors are conversing using ASL, the speaker has the ability to identify the name of an object so that the listener also understands the object of the reference. The speaker then has the ability to manipulate the same sign in a variety of ways to indicate how the entity is being used or handled. See examples below.