if1 and if2are manual signs, which can introduce an antecedent in DGS-conditional clauses, but are used optionally. if1 is a former phonetic-manual supporting sign used in the German deaf education system for the phoneme /n/. if2, used with the mouthing ‘pf’, is semantically close to the meaning of suddenly in DGS. This sign is a product of a grammaticalization process.
Manual signs used optionally for the consequence are then and mean. The sign then marks the beginning of a consequence, which has sometimes a temporal character. mean, which is expressed by double tipping of the thumb and the index finger, suggests a result.
The manual signs for an antecedent are the following:
a. if1
b. if2
The manual signs introducing the consequence are illustrated below:
c. then
d. mean
Sentence examples of the manual conditional signs in DGS are given below.
hn, eg-down eg-straight, b
a. if2 ix2 ix(dem)a game win ix1 next round begin
‘If you win this game, I will begin the next round’
re, hn ht, b
b. ix2 ix(dem)acard get mean ix2 one try
‘If you get this card, that means you only get one try.
Hand alternations are another way to express conditional clauses in DGS. This means a change from the active hand to the passive hand, e.g. usually a change from the right hand that signs the antecedent to the left hand that signs the consequence.
re, hn eg-straight ht, eg-down
RH: card there three symbol
LH: ix2 cl:‘put_down’
‘If there are three symbols on the card, you play three cards.’