Chapter 3
Acquisition
The South African Sign Language (SASL) verb know is produced with a bent -hand, palm facing downwards, on the side of the head with a repeated movement. The SASL verb remember is produced with -hand, palm facing sideways, on the side of the head with a repeated movement.
You can predict that children will learn to correctly produce the verb know before the verb remember. What is the basis for this prediction?
The handshape in the SASL sign know is an unmarked handshape (see Chapter 11) in contrast to the handshape used in remember. That is, it is more frequent and easier to articulate. In particular, the crossing of the fingers in remember will be difficult for children to articulate. This will make the sign remember more difficult to produce. Further, the other parameters are similar.