A Grammar of German Sign Language (DGS)

In DGS, signs may be articulated at the body or in the neutral signing space in front of the signer. So far, 23 locations are taken as distinctive in DGS. The coordinates in the signing space may be defined by the following aspects:

• horizontal → far in front of the body, neutral space (in front of the chest), next to the body (right/left), near the body, body contact, behind the body
• vertical → body-related height: forehead, eye, nose, cheek, mouth, chin, shoulder, chest, belly, abdomen, hip, upper arm, elbows, crook of the arm, forearm, wrist, back of the hand, palm, side of the hand, side of the fingers, fingertip, nail

One example of a minimal pair regarding the location is distress – ask. Both signs are articulated with the O-hand, palm orientation towards the torso and a straight path movement away from the body. The only difference is the location neck versus chin.

distress – ask

Further examples of minimal pairs concerning the location are:

a. bird – meaning   

b. nasty – responsible 

In principle, the neutral signing space has an indefinite amount of locations for the articulation of signs. However, these different locations are not used for the differentiation between two signs, but gain importance within the contextual use of signs. In DGS, there are no minimal pairs based on an articulation of either the side of the articulating hand or the opposite side in the signing space.

The following phonological restriction is essential for locations in DGS: In non-derived signs with a path movement, the two locations of the sign have to be in one of the four areas of the body, namely, the head, the torso, the non-dominant hand, and the opposite arm. However, there are a few exceptional cases in DGS. These are iconic signs such as the two-handed sign nun which is articulated by tracing the typical headgear. The sign starts at the head and ends below the shoulders. This means that the hands move in two body areas. Such examples are exceptions based on the competition among iconicity and a phonological rule.