Signing space

<h2 id="linguistics">Linguistics</h2>
<p>Sign languages take advantage of the three-dimensional space for a plethora of purposes. This space is used for referring to participants in a conversation, demonstrating the grammatical roles of participants in an event or illustrating information about different types of motion events.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p><p>Pronominal Usage
</p><p>Sign languages have some forms to refer to participants in a conversation (e.g. signer, <a href="/facts/Interlocutor_(linguistics)/2CHEJ0ft">addressee</a>, non-addressee). These forms strongly involve the usage of the signing space. By pointing towards his chest, the signer references himself. In some cultures where speakers of the spoken language point towards their noses to establish a reference to themselves, the nose is pointed to instead. Reference to the addressee or the non-addressee is done by pointing towards him or her. Index finger is used in these cases. In case of referring to plural participants, some sign languages may use other than the index finger.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="size-of-signing-space">Size of signing space</h2>
<p>Signing space extends from above the head of the signer to the waist vertically and from elbow to elbow horizontally. Signs are articulated on or in front of the body. The space can extend to as much as the whole body in shared sign languages and the signs may include even the back of a signer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
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<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Space on hand: The exploitation of signing space to illustrate abstract thought. - PsycNET". <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-01122-005" target="_blank">https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-01122-005</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Lenseigne, Boris; Dalle, Patrice (2006). "Using Signing Space as a Representation for Sign Language Processing". In Gibet, Sylvie; Courty, Nicolas; Kamp, Jean-François (eds.). Gesture in Human-Computer Interaction and Simulation. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 3881. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 25–36. doi:10.1007/11678816_3. ISBN 978-3-540-32625-0. <a href="978-3-540-32625-0" target="_blank">978-3-540-32625-0</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"G: Signing Space – British Sign Language". <a href="https://bsl.surrey.ac.uk/principles/g-signing-space" target="_blank">https://bsl.surrey.ac.uk/principles/g-signing-space</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Bauer, Anastasia (11 September 2014). The use of signing space in a shared sign language of Australia. New York. ISBN 978-1-61451-547-0. OCLC 879400422.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) <a href="978-1-61451-547-0" target="_blank">978-1-61451-547-0</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Bauer, Anastasia (11 September 2014). The use of signing space in a shared sign language of Australia. New York. ISBN 978-1-61451-547-0. OCLC 879400422.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) <a href="978-1-61451-547-0" target="_blank">978-1-61451-547-0</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Bauer, Anastasia (11 September 2014). The use of signing space in a shared sign language of Australia. New York. ISBN 978-1-61451-547-0. OCLC 879400422.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) <a href="978-1-61451-547-0" target="_blank">978-1-61451-547-0</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Signing space open-in-new

Signing space