Contrast of Structure I American Sign Language (ASL)

It seems to go without saying that contrastive structure, in sign language would allow you to contrast or compare two or three things, but it really does so much more! This essential grammatical element can be subtle and is often used by native speakers without too much thought or effort. It is demonstrated by leaning slightly (not turning the shoulders as we do in storytelling), from the non-dominant to the dominant side. Such a simple movement, but it can be used to demonstrate opposing groups, options, sequence of events, or even questions that involve “which.” in some cases, the contrast of structure can allow the signer to establish different periods of time or places, and keep referring back to the same idea or thought, without having to re-explain it one of the more simple aspects of this structure is that it can represent a contraction (most commonly, “and” and “or”). One example might be: “I was born in California, and later moved to Texas.” The word “and” is omitted, and the signer simply leans one way for California and the other way for Texas. Once you get used to this idea, it’s so natural that you may find yourself doing it in verbal conversations!

Who this course is for:

• For the intermediate who want to expand visual concepts in ASL.