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 SIG, an abbreviation of signation. Movement is one of five components of a sign—with handshape (DEZ), orientation (ORI), location (TAB), and nonmanual features. 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.