单项选择题According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUEA. Linguists have found that sign languages and spoken languages differ from each other in many features.B. Like spoken languages, which use units of form to produce words, sign languages use units of sounds.C. Separately, b, e, and t have a meaning and together they form the word bet.D. Spoken languages contain units of form that by themselves hold no meaning, but when combined create a word.
ASL has a rich system for modifying the meaning of signs. Verbs such as "look at" can be changed to indicate that the activity takes place without interruption, repeatedly, or over a long time. The adjective "sick," for example, is formed by placing the right middle finger on the forehead and the left middle finger on the stomach. By forming the sign "sick" and repeatedly moving the left hand in a circle, the signer can indicate that someone is characteristically or always sick.
Facial grammar, such as raised eyebrows, also can modify meaning. For example, a signer can make the statement "He is smart" by forming the ASL sign for "smart" placing the middle finger at the forehead—and then quickly pointing it outward as if toward another person to indicate "he." To pose the question "Is he smart" the sigher accompanies this sign with raised eyebrows and a slightly tilted head.
People who sign sometimes use finger spelling to represent letters of the alphabet. In some sign languages, including ASL, finger spelling serves as a way to borrow words from spoken language. A deaf person might, for example, choose to fingerspell "d-o-g" for "dog" instead of using a sign. Several types of finger spelling systems exist.
Linguists still have much to learn about the world’s sign languages. What has become clear is that hundreds, if not thousands, of sign languages exist around the world.
