2.2.3. Buoys
Sometimes the handshape of a sign is held on the non-dominant hand, while the other hand continues to articulate several separate signs. This phenomenon is called “weak hand hold”. Sometimes these holds occur in order to express discourse relations, which often involve reference tracking. Such meaningful discourse-level holds are often called “buoys” [LEXICON 1.2.3].
One common type of buoys is the list buoy, where the signer holds a handshape with outstretched fingers in order to track a certain number of referents. Each time the signer refers to one of the entities, the dominant hand points towards the corresponding digit. It is an anaphoric device because the signer can refer back to one of the entities later in the discourse. For instance, the signer may hold the non-dominant handshape with three outstretched fingers, while telling about how difficult each subject is. The three fingers ensure the presence of the three referents in discourse; the signer may also point towards the fingers in order to express co-reference with each subject.
dh: theme three. direct ix3 difficult best first ix1turn ix1 ix2 ix3
ndh: three -----------------------------------------------------
‘There are three themes. Directly starting with the third one is difficult. It is better to start first with the first one, then the second and finally the third.’
(recreated from Quer et al., 2005)