A Grammar of Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT)

Secondary movements (also called hand-internal or local movements) are changes in handshape and/or orientation. Handshape can be divided into selected fingers and finger configuration (see PHONOLOGY 1.1.1.1 and 1.1.1.2), but NGT does not allow the selected fingers to change within the syllable (see PHONOLOGY 2.1.1). Therefore, only changes of orientation and finger configuration are described here. An example of a sign with a change of orientation is the sign be_lucky in Figure 2.24:

 

 

Figure 2.24. The start and end configuration of be_lucky, involving a change of orientation (Crasborn et al. 2020).

 

An example of a sign in which the hand configuration (repeatedly) changes from extended to clawed is the sign would_like in Figure 2.25:

 

 

 

Figure 2.25. The start and end configuration of the sign would_like, involving a change of hand configuration.

 

Both these secondary movement types can be repeated in a single sign, as is true for both examples above. The secondary movements can also be combined, as in the sign for internet (Figure 2.26), but this is quite rare (see PHONOLOGY 2.1.1 for more on the movement complexity constraint, which is a constraint on the form of the syllable.

Both types of secondary movement can also combine with all types of path movements. Examples (in glosses) are provided in the table below:

 

Table 2.12. Combinations of path movements and secondary movements.

 

 

 

 

Figure 2.26. The start and end configuration of the sign internet, which involves a combination of secondary movements.