Depicting Signs can be used to show entity.
One finger can be used to depict a single person, or a child if shown smaller.
Two fingers can be used to depict two people together, or if more fingers are shown it can indicate a group of people.
A pointing finger is used to depict an animal; although in order to convey meaning it should be accompanied by the lexical sign for the name of the animal, or a visual description of what the animal looks like or its personality.
It can also be used to depict a bicycle when in comparison to the sign for transport below as bikes are much smaller.
The palm is used to depict a car or other transport, however should also be used with a lexical sign and a description for how fast the car is going, or the direction etc.
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
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| 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.
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| 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
