An action role shift in DGS is introduced either establishing the referents in signing space or establishing a certain body posture and non-manuals. These are accompanied by the nominal introduction of the referents and allow for an embedded interpretation of the following action role shift when taking over the role by the role shift non-manuals and imitating the facial expressions of the characters. In DGS, full noun phrases, names of the referents, pronouns or ellipsis may be used to introduce an action role shift as is illustrated in the example below.
Example of action role-shift with no matrix clause introduction while switching from the role of the hare (picture -3) to the role of the tortoise (picture 4-5)
(based on Herrmann & Pendzich, 2018: 291)