Chapter 5. Classifiers

Classifiers are morphological complex constructions that belong to the non-core lexicon of the language [LEXICON 1.2.1]. These constructions depict three-dimensionally salient iconic features of entities, like the shape of an object or the shape of the hand when handling an object, through specific handshapes, to express the motion and/or location of the entity they represent. They also represent entities two-dimensionally by depicting its outline with a B-handshape. The present chapter offers an overview of the different types of classifier constructions identified for LSC with an inventory of the most frequent handshapes and their possible associated meanings.