Linguistics: American Sign Language: iconicity
ASL grammar and linguistics discussions.
What is iconicity in ASL?
In American Sign Language (ASL), the term "iconic" refers to signs that have a visual or conceptual resemblance to the thing they represent. This is a key feature of many signs in sign languages, where the form of the sign is often related to its meaning, making it easier to understand or remember.
For example, in ASL, the sign for "tree" might involve an arm that represents the trunk and a hand that shows the spreading branches, visually mimicking the shape of a tree. Such iconic signs create a direct, visual connection between the sign and its referent, which can be especially helpful for new learners or when trying to convey concepts quickly and clearly.
This is in contrast to arbitrary signs, where there is no visual connection between the sign and its meaning.
Iconicity is a significant aspect of ASL and other sign languages, contributing to their richness and expressiveness as visual languages.
What is conceptual resemblance in ASL?
A conceptual resemblance in American Sign Language (ASL) refers to the idea that certain signs represent their meaning not just through resembling the size or shape of a thing but rather through representing a concept or an abstract idea in a way that makes sense visually.
In ASL, some signs may not directly mimic the physical form of their referent but instead capture an essential characteristic or an important aspect of the concept they represent. This form of iconicity connects more with the idea or function of the object or action rather than its physical shape.
For instance:
The sign for "eat": This sign is made by bringing the hand to the mouth, which conceptually resembles the act of eating, even though it does not visually mimic any specific food or utensil.
The sign for "think": The motion of the finger touching (or circling near) the forehead can conceptually represent the process of thinking, visually representing the idea that thoughts occur in the brain.
The sign for "grow up" moves the hand from a lower position to a higher position representing the concept of a child getting taller as they become older.
Prepositions in ASL typically resemble some aspect of the concept that they represent: on, over, below, with, etc.
The signs for numbers 1 through 5 tend to represent those concepts by extending a number of fingers that correspond to the concept of the number. We could say that numbers 1 through 5 are conceptually iconic but many other numbers are arbitrary and must be specifically learned. For example it is fairly easy to look at the number five and guess from the look of the handshape that the concept being represented is five. It is much harder to look at the ASL sign for 6 and guess from the look of the hand that it means six. Thus we can say that the ASL sign for 5 is iconic but the ASL sign for 6 is arbitrary.
These signs are iconic in the sense that they look like the essence or a key attribute of the concept they signify. This use of conceptual resemblance in ASL allows for a rich, expressive means of communication that effectively bridges the gap between abstract ideas and visual expression.
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