Movements in space occur in various forms and can be classified in terms of the following aspects:
- direction: relation to body(part), relation to points in space; horizontal/frontal/vertical; towards the side of the active/non-active hand, forward/backward, upward/downward
- shape: straight, bend, circle etc.
- manner: tempo, intensity, size, amount of repetition
The arched movement of the sign father goes from the forehead upward to the chin and occurs in a usual tempo, intensity, and size. The zigzag movement of the sign christmas runs in the neutral signing space downwards and occurs in a usual tempo, intensity, and size.
a. father
b. christmas
Moreover, it is essential whether a movement is reduplicated or not. The minimal pair finish – already is distinguished solely by this property. Whereas the sign finish is articulated with a single downwards movement to the non-dominant hand, within the sign already this movement is reduplicated.
finish - already
Further examples of minimal pairs with respect to movement are:
a. son – daugther
b. yellow – gold
c. secure – what_a_pity
d. calculate – how_much
e. idea – ideology