Movement (sign language)

In sign languages, movement, or sig, refers to the distinctive hand actions that form words. In William Stokoe's terminology, it is the , an abbreviation of signation. Movement is one of five components of a sign—with handshape , orientation , location , and facial-body expression. Different sign languages use different types of movement. Some treatments distinguish movement and hold—signs, or parts of signs, that involve motion vs. those that hold the hands still.