1.1. Active articulators
We follow Crasborn (2001) and the SignGram Blueprint in distinguishing between the terms ‘handshape’ and ‘active articulator’, in which the former is seen as “a phonetic realization of a bundle of articulator features, a concrete realization that is always depicted in terms of the configuration of the whole hand”. In contrast, the latter is a phonological concept that “highlights that only a subset of the hand, such as a single selected finger, can be the phonologically specified active articulator”. In PHONOLOGY, we use these terms as such[1]; [BVdB1] thus, the current section addresses (parts of) the active articulator, and we describe the features of the active articulator that occur systematically and are phonologically distinct. In general, this means that these features do not carry meaning themselves, but as will be described below, some feature values are exceptions to this statement; these will be addressed as well.
A small note on one-handed signs: whether a one-handed sign is articulated with the left or right hand does not affect its meaning and is therefore not a distinguishing factor. When ‘handedness’ is discussed, this relates to a one-handed or two-handed phonological specification of a sign.
The active articulator has two components: the phonemic handshape, which is discussed in PHONOLOGY 1.1.1, and its orientation, addressed in PHONOLOGY 1.1.2. PHONOLOGY 1.1.3 describes specific sets of handshapes that do not entirely fit in the phoneme inventory because they are mainly used in the manual alphabet and/or numeric system. The last section, PHONOLOGY 1.1.4, addresses lexemes that are not articulated by the hands, but by another articulator, such as the tongue.
[1] However, a few disclaimers are in place here. I will make use of small images of (phonetic) handshapes to illustrate (phonemic) combinations of features, and this approach is not in line with above-mentioned distinction. Additionally, in other Parts of this dissertation, the term ‘handshape’ will be used in a broader and phonemic sense. I made these decisions for clearness and ease of illustration. Still, in the current Part, the images are often accompanied by a feature description of the active articulator and/or a footnote to emphasize the phonetic status of the image.
[BVdB1]moet nog gelinkt worden