Sublexical structure refers to formal aspects of signs below the level of the syllable. Signs are mostly mono-syllabic in NGT, which means that the level of the syllable typically overlaps with the level of the sign. Thus, sublexical structure refers to the specifications of the parameters of signs, in other words, to the distinctive features that characterize the phonological components of signs. Important is that these features do not carry meaning themselves, but are meaning-distinguishing in nature.
In this chapter, we describe what is known of the phonemic inventory of NGT per component. PHONOLOGY 1.1 focusses on what is typically called the handshape (although the term ‘active articulator’ will be used, see below). PHONOLOGY 1.2 addresses location, while PHONOLOGY 1.3 describes movement. In PHONOLOGY 1.4, the focus is on handedness, and Section 1.5 describes the non-manual components of signs in NGT. One might note that another important component is the orientation of a sign, this will be addressed in a subsection of PHONOLOGY 1.1 (PHONOLOGY 1.1.2).