Native-like compounds with a fingerspelled component are structurally different from compounds in the surrounding spoken language. Examples of these in NGT are signs for certain measurements such as c^sasssmall ‘centimeter’ (Figure a.) and d^sassdeciliter ‘deciliter’. The first element of the sign centimeter is the manual letter c, and the second part is not the lexical sign for ‘meter’ but a SASS representing a small distance (of about one centimeter) (for more information about SASS, see MORPHOLOGY 5.2). The sign deciliter has the manual letter d as the first element, and a SASS as the second element, which consists of two index fingers that are in a certain distance from each other, representing an amount of liquid of about one deciliter.
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a. c^sasssmall ‘centimeter’ |