Scholars study ABSL because, as deaf people in Al-Sayyid cannot hear Arabic or Hebrew and they have not been exposed to any other sign languages, ABSL is a brand new language, uninfluenced by any other. ABSL is in its early stages, so researchers are observing the language as it develops.
Phonology ABSL has not been found to have a fully fledged
phonology. This can be seen in the absence of
duality of patterning, which means signs in ABSL cannot be analyzed as being composed of smaller, meaningless units. Other features common of phonologies, such as
signs differing in single feature or rigid
constraints on well-formed signs were also not found. Sign features that often contrast in established sign languages, such as
where the sign is articulated or the
orientation of the hand do not seem relevant. It seemed that the ABSL speakers were "aiming for an
iconic and holistic
prototype" when producing a sign rather than adhering to strictly defined features, which is what one would expect from a language with a phonology. The form of a given sign varies considerably throughout the community and is understood by others through iconicity. However, within households that have fluent deaf or hearing signers the signs have a much more conventionalized agreed-upon form. Certain phonological processes, such as
assimilation of handshape within a
compound, have also been observed within families. These types of households might eventually give rise to the type of phonology found in more established sign languages.
Lexicon New signs are often creating through compounding, whereby two noun signs are combined. One method of compounding includes the addition of what appears to be an
affix to the base sign to indicate its length. This length affix cannot be used in isolation and is produced by touching the wrist with the non-dominant hand at different points to indicate the relative length of the object in question. The dominant hand meanwhile indicates its thickness through the extension of more or less fingers. For example, the word 'pencil' is translated with the compound 'WRITE+LONG-THIN-OBJECT' by first performing the sign for WRITE, then extending the index finger to represent the pencil and having the other hand represent its relative length. This compound also undergoes handshape assimilation, whereby both hands take on the same handshape. This could be considered as the beginnings of a phonology. Some signs have been found to not iconically represent the concept in question. For example, the sign for "man" is formed by the curling of the finger in the shape of a moustache although Bedouin men no longer wear them. ==See also==