All signs have handshapes. They are one of the five main parameters for signing along with movement (left, right, up, down, diagonal), location (near the chest, near the eyes, etc.), orientation (palm facing out vs palm facing in), and non manual markers (eye contact, eyebrow position, head tilt, body tilt, smile, nodding, tongue out). The handshapes are simply what shape you make with your hands. However, some handshapes are used like pronouns in English where that which is being represented (or described) by a specific handshape must be "introduced" prior.
Based on those handshapes, signers will recognize the type of objects being represented in a story. These specific handshapes are called “Classifiers.” The basic categories handshapes represent are nouns (objects, people, animals, vehicles, etc.), shapes of objects (including outlines, perimeters, surfaces, configurations, gradients, etc.), size of objects (amount, largeness, smallness, relative size, volume, etc.), and their usage (movement paths, speed, interactions, etc.).
For example, holding your index finger and thumb beside each other in G shape is Classifier G. It is one handshape that can be used in multiple contexts, usually to describe how small/thin an object is. Held on top of your head it means “short hair” or “buzz-cut.” Held by the eyes, it shows the action of “winking” or “opening the eyes” or even “surprise.”
Now that you understand classifiers, I can discuss the ART of ASL storytelling. I have included a video by YouTuber, Dack Virnig. He best demonstrates how expressive and detailed stories and also conversations can be in ASL. It uses the entire body to convey multiple characters, multiple emotions, describe music, and sequential actions. It is a performance that goes far beyond the pantomime that most hearing people assume signed languages are. Classifiers make this possible by acting as placeholders for larger ideas. In the first part of the video where he portrays a scene from the animated movie, ANTZ, he uses classifier CL-B to represent the shoes threatening to stop the ants. This flat handshape shows the enormity of the shoe compared to the ants better than the actual sign for “shoes” which is signed by making two fists and gently tapping them together in front of you. In this case, the classifiers also help display the size and shape of the object in question, the shoe.
This is possible because classifiers can help to clarify the overall message by referencing specific details. Classifiers represent the object itself, as I have described: also, conveys how an object (in this case the shoe) relates to its environment. In the same clip we see him use the flat hand classifier to show how the shoe moves in long strides, stomping against the ground while the ant holds onto the loose shoelace flying behind the shoe.
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