LSC distinguishes among first, second and third persons. First person reference is body-anchored, as the index sign is always directed towards the signer's chest.
Second person reference involves pointing to the addressee, either the actual addressee, present in the context of utterance, or the reported addressee in case of role shift constructions.
Finally, in third person reference, the location where the pointing sign is directed to depends on the actual location of referents – if they are present – or on their ascribed location within the signing space – in case of referents which are not physically present in the context of utterance –.
Therefore, the location established in the signing space does not distinguish by itself between second and third person, as it does in the case of the first pronominal form. Instead, to differentiate between second and third person pronouns it is necessary to take into account non-manual components, and the alignment of these elements with the spatial location selected by the pointing sign.
More specifically, second person pronouns are marked by the alignment of the direction of the hand, eye gaze and head towards the spatial location of the referent. Conversely, third person pronouns are characterized by the misalignment of the location component and the non-manuals just listed above.
a) First person singular pronoun b) Second person singular pronoun c) Third person singular pronoun