SOON and EXPERT

[Dan Parvaz]

> Can I just remind people that this is an international list, and those
> of us who do not know ASL cannot follow discussions about sign
> phonology in which the only description of a sign's form  is "SOON"
> or "EXPERT".

I described PROVE; what more could you want?

In a nutshell, SOON and EXPERT share the same handshape (thumb+index
touching at tip, forming a ring, with the other fingers extended) and
contact location (midway between the chin and lower lip), and orientation
(palm is in, fingers pointing contra, contact made where the thumb and
index meet). The difference is that soon has a short double contact,
whereas EXPERT starts off closer to neutral space (doesn't that sound like
_Star Trek_?) and ends with a single contact.

Clear as mud? :-)

-Dan.

____________
,,,
.. .   D A N  P A R V A Z  --  Geek-in-Residence
 U    University of New Mexico Linguistics Dept
 -    dparvaz@{unm.edu,lanl.gov}   505.480.9638