Editing American Sign Language (section)

== Phonology ==
{{main|American Sign Language phonology}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = [[Distinctive feature]]s in ASL
| width = 150
| image1 = V@InForward.jpg
| alt1 = ASL sign for the number 2
| caption1 = Phonemic handshape /2/<br />[+ closed thumb]<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|12}}

| image2 = 3@InForward.jpg
| alt2 = ASL sign for the number 3
| caption2 = Phonemic handshape /3/<br />[− closed thumb]<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|12}}
}}

Each sign in ASL is composed of a number of distinctive components, generally referred to as parameters. A sign may use one hand or both. All signs can be described using the five parameters involved in signed languages, which are [[handshape]], [[movement (sign language)|movement]], [[orientation (sign language)|palm orientation]], [[location (sign language)|location]] and [[nonmanual marker]]s.<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|10}} Just as phonemes of sound distinguish meaning in spoken languages, those parameters are the phonemes that distinguish meaning in signed languages like ASL.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=Anne|last2=van den Bogaerde|first2=Beppie|last3=Pfau|first3=Roland|last4=Schermer|first4=Trude|title=The Linguistics of Sign Languages : An Introduction|date=2016|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|isbn=9789027212306}}</ref> Changing any one of them may change the meaning of a sign, as illustrated by the ASL signs THINK and DISAPPOINTED:
{|
|
{| class="wikitable"
|+ THINK<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|10}}
! Handshape
| Closed fist with index finger extended
|-
! Orientation
| Facing signer's body
|-
! Location
| Tip of finger in contact with forehead
|-
! Movement
| Unidirectional single contacting movement
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|+ DISAPPOINTED<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|10}}
! Handshape
| (as for THINK)
|-
! Orientation
| (as for THINK)
|-
! Location
| Tip of finger in contact with chin
|-
! Movement
| (as for THINK)
|}
|}

There are also meaningful [[nonmanual signals]] in ASL,<ref name="bahan">{{Harvcoltxt|Bahan|1996}}</ref>{{rp|49}} which may include movement of the eyebrows, the cheeks, the nose, the head, the torso, and the eyes.<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|49}}

[[William Stokoe]] proposed that such components are analogous to the [[phoneme]]s of spoken languages.<ref name="vhc"/>{{rp|601:15}}{{efn|Stokoe himself termed them [[chereme]]s, but other linguists have referred to them as phonemes. See {{Harvcoltxt|Bahan|1996|p=11}}.}} There has also been a proposal that they are analogous to classes like [[place of articulation|place]] and [[manner of articulation]].<ref name="vhc"/>{{rp|601:15}} As in spoken languages, those phonological units can be split into [[distinctive feature]]s.<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|12}} For instance, the handshapes /2/ and /3/ are distinguished by the presence or absence of the feature [± closed thumb], as illustrated to the right.<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|12}} ASL has processes of [[allophony]] and [[phonotactic]] restrictions.<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|12,19}} There is ongoing research into whether ASL has an analog of [[syllable]]s in spoken language.<ref name="bahan"/>{{rp|1}}