Sign Language is more than just hand gestures. This week I’m using the art from my dictionary to show the grammar of Mouth Morphemes. These non-manual markers involve the movement of the mouth and facial expression to change or add to the description, similar to an adjective or an adverb. I’ll post each word with and without this marker to demonstrate the changes. Today’s first example is the Mouth Morpheme CHA. In my dictionary, this grinning giant’s hand sign means Big, but by opening his jaw, he changes the word to Very Big, Very Large, or even Gigantic. This part of ASL grammar is another reason why mouthing words as you sign them can ruin your communication.
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