What are depicting signs?

Depicting signs are "partly lexical signs, composites of linguistic and gestural elements" (Johnston & Schembri, 2010) that are used to show what the signer is trying to say so the viewer can picture it. They are used quite often in story telling and informal conversations to give context and description. 

For Example:                         CAR

Lexicalised sign for car

The lexicalised sign for car is two fists moving in circles in opposite directions to each other. It is used when simply saying the word car in conversation.

Depicting Sign for Car

The depicting sign for car is used when describing the direction the car is travelling, whether it is moving fast, or slow, and can be used as a shape indicator. 

The hand shape depicted in the photo at left with the palm is used to depict cars and other forms of transport - to differentiate it can be done by signing the lexical sign first, followed by the depicting sign for more descriptive information. 








Source: 
Johnston, T. & Schembri, A. (2010). Variation, lexicalization and grammaticalization in signed langauges. Langage et societe, 131(March), 19-35.

Swann, D. (2014). EDUC20076 Visual Communication and Depicting Signs: Course notes. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne