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NSSCO Namibian Sign Language 6107 study materials
NSSCO Namibian Sign Language 6107 study resources

NSSCO Namibian Sign Language 6107 practice questions

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Question 1Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed text, a signer raises their eyebrows and leans their head forward while producing a yes/no question. What does this non-manual marker signal to the viewer?

  1. That the following sign is a proper name being fingerspelled
  2. That the clause is a question expecting a yes or no answer Correct answer.
  3. That the signer is about to end the whole narrative
  4. That the signer is quoting someone else's speech

Explanation

In Namibian Sign Language, as in most sign languages, yes/no questions are marked by raised eyebrows together with a forward head tilt and often a slight forward body lean. These non-manual features spread over the questioned clause and tell the viewer an answer is expected. Recognising this marker is essential when viewing a signed text because the manual signs alone may not show that a question was asked.

Question 2Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

While viewing a signed narrative, you notice the signer's eyebrows furrow and pull together and the head tilts slightly while producing a clause. Which meaning does this marker most likely add?

  1. A wh-question or a statement of strong doubt or negation Correct answer.
  2. A signal that the signer is spelling a foreign word
  3. A shift to a completely new setting in the story
  4. A polite offer of assistance to the viewer

Explanation

Furrowed, drawn-together brows are the standard non-manual marker for wh-questions and for negative or doubtful statements in Namibian Sign Language. The viewer should read this facial configuration together with the manual signs to decide whether a question word or a negation is intended. Ignoring the brows can lead to misreading the clause as a plain statement.

Question 3Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a sign that begins at the chin and moves downward while the head shakes slightly side to side. How should a viewer interpret this combination?

  1. As a negative statement reinforced by the headshake Correct answer.
  2. As a compliment directed at the addressee
  3. As a request for the addressee to repeat something
  4. As a question asking for confirmation

Explanation

A side-to-side headshake is the core non-manual negation marker, and it can co-occur with manual negative signs or spread across a whole clause. When it accompanies a downward sign from the chin, the viewer should read the clause as negative. The headshake carries the negation even when no separate negative manual sign is present.

Question 4Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

During a signed text, the signer points to a location in space that was earlier established for a person, then uses a verb directed toward that location. What is the viewer expected to understand?

  1. That the narrative has finished and a new one begins
  2. That the signer has forgotten the earlier part of the text
  3. That the signer is pointing at a real object in the room
  4. That the verb involves the person established at that location Correct answer.

Explanation

Sign languages use referential space: a location set up for a referent can later be pointed to or used as the endpoint of a verb to show who is involved. The viewer must track these spatial set-ups across the text to follow who does what to whom. This is a core skill in receptive comprehension of signed narratives.

Question 5Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a classifier handshape representing a vehicle and moves it along a curved path. What information does the viewer gain from this construction?

  1. The manner and direction of the vehicle's movement Correct answer.
  2. The time of day when the journey happened
  3. The name of the person driving the vehicle
  4. The exact brand and colour of the vehicle

Explanation

Classifier constructions combine a handshape that represents a category of entity with a movement path that depicts how that entity moves. The viewer reads the path and manner from the movement itself. Details such as brand, driver's name, or time are not encoded in the classifier movement.

Question 6Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

While watching a signed story, the signer suddenly turns their body and gaze to the left and signs a short utterance, then returns to face the viewer. What is the viewer most likely witnessing?

  1. The end of the signed text
  2. A mistake that should be ignored
  3. Constructed dialogue in which a character is quoted Correct answer.
  4. A direct address to the viewer asking a question

Explanation

Body shifts with gaze changes are the standard way to signal constructed dialogue, where the signer takes the role of a character and quotes what that character said. The viewer should attribute the quoted content to the character, not to the signer's own voice. Returning to face the viewer signals the end of the quotation.

Question 7Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces the same handshape twice in quick succession with a small bounce between the productions. In receptive terms, what does this reduplication usually convey?

  1. Negation of the action
  2. Repetition or continuation of the action Correct answer.
  3. Past tense of the action
  4. A question about the action

Explanation

Reduplication, a repeated production of a sign, commonly encodes repeated or continued action in Namibian Sign Language. The viewer interprets the repeated movement as showing that the action happened over and over or went on for a while. Tense and negation are carried by other markers, such as time signs and headshake.

Question 8Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed text about a daily routine, the signer first signs a time marker meaning 'morning' at the start of the clause. Why does the viewer treat this as applying to the whole clause?

  1. Because time signs always refer only to the signer's own actions
  2. Because time signs replace all verbs in the clause
  3. Because time signs are used only in questions
  4. Because time signs set the temporal frame for the clause that follows Correct answer.

Explanation

Time signs are typically placed at or near the beginning of a clause and establish the time frame for the events described in that clause. The viewer should carry that time reference forward until a new time sign appears. This is why missing the initial time sign can lead to misunderstanding the whole sequence.

Question 9Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer maintains a topic at the start of a clause, pauses, then comments on it. How should the viewer parse this structure?

  1. As a topic-comment structure where the first element is the topic Correct answer.
  2. As two unrelated sentences with no connection
  3. As a question followed by its answer
  4. As a list of items being enumerated

Explanation

Namibian Sign Language frequently uses topic-comment ordering, where the topic is established first, often with a pause or brow raise, and the comment follows. The viewer should link the comment back to the established topic. Treating the two parts as unrelated would break the coherence of the text.

Question 10Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer notices that a signer uses a larger, more forceful movement and holds the final position longer than usual. What is the most likely communicative effect?

  1. Emphasis or intensity on the signed message Correct answer.
  2. A signal that the signer is uncertain
  3. A polite, softened request
  4. A signal that the signer is spelling a name

Explanation

Increasing the size, speed, or force of a sign and holding its final position are common ways to add emphasis or intensity in signed languages. The viewer should interpret these prosodic changes as strengthening the message. Softer, smaller movements would do the opposite and reduce force.

Question 11Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a sign with both hands moving symmetrically toward the centre of the body. What does the viewer primarily rely on to identify the sign's meaning?

  1. Only the number of hands used
  2. Only the speed at which the hands move
  3. The handshape, location, movement, and non-manual features together Correct answer.
  4. Only the facial expression of the signer

Explanation

Sign identification depends on several parameters working together: handshape, location, movement, orientation, and non-manual features. No single parameter is sufficient on its own. A viewer who attends only to speed, face, or hand count will misidentify signs that share those features.

Question 12Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed text, the signer describes a scene and then signs a sequence that establishes two locations, left and right, before describing an interaction. Why does the viewer keep track of these locations?

  1. Because they represent the two participants in the upcoming interaction Correct answer.
  2. Because they mark the beginning and end of the text
  3. Because they show that the text is a question
  4. Because they indicate the signer's own left and right hands

Explanation

Establishing two locations in signing space sets up referents that can then be used in verbs and points to show who interacts with whom. The viewer must remember which referent occupies which location to follow the interaction correctly. Losing track of the set-up leads to reversing the roles of the participants.

Question 13Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a flat hand with palm facing the viewer and moves it in a small circular motion near the chest while smiling. In receptive terms, what should the viewer attend to first?

  1. The speed of the circular motion alone
  2. The smile alone as the main message
  3. The distance of the hand from the body alone
  4. The combination of handshape, movement, and facial expression as a whole sign Correct answer.

Explanation

A sign is identified from the combined parameters of handshape, location, movement, orientation, and non-manual features such as facial expression. The viewer should integrate these features rather than isolating one. Isolating the smile or the motion alone can lead to a wrong reading.

Question 14Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

During a signed announcement, the signer points to an imaginary spot in front of them and then signs a series of actions all directed to that spot. What does the viewer understand?

  1. That all the actions concern the same referent located at that spot Correct answer.
  2. That each action concerns a different new referent
  3. That the announcement has no topic
  4. That the signer is asking the viewer to look away

Explanation

Once a referent is located at a point in signing space, subsequent verbs and points directed to that location continue to refer to the same entity. This spatial cohesion allows the viewer to track a single participant across many clauses. Changing referents would require establishing a new location.

Question 15Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a wh-question. Which combination of non-manual features should the viewer expect?

  1. Raised brows with a forward head tilt
  2. Neutral face with no movement at all
  3. Furrowed brows with a slight head tilt, often held through the question Correct answer.
  4. A side-to-side headshake throughout

Explanation

Wh-questions in Namibian Sign Language are marked by furrowed brows and a head tilt, typically maintained across the questioned clause. This distinguishes them from yes/no questions, which use raised brows and a forward tilt. The viewer uses these facial cues to know what kind of response is expected.

Question 16Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed narrative, the signer signs a clause and then repeats the same clause with a different spatial location and a different facial expression. What is the viewer most likely observing?

  1. A request for the viewer to answer a question
  2. A correction of a spelling mistake
  3. A simple repetition for emphasis of the same point
  4. A contrast between two perspectives or speakers Correct answer.

Explanation

Repeating a clause with a changed spatial location and facial expression is a common way to contrast two perspectives or attribute the same content to different speakers. The viewer should notice the shift and interpret it as a contrast rather than mere emphasis. Plain emphasis would keep the same location and expression.

Question 17Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a small, quick movement with a relaxed face while describing a minor event, then switches to a large, slow movement with tense face for a major event. What does the viewer infer?

  1. That the second event happened earlier in time
  2. That the second event is presented as more significant or intense Correct answer.
  3. That the first event was a question
  4. That the first event was negated

Explanation

Prosodic scaling in signed languages uses movement size, speed, and facial tension to signal intensity or importance. The viewer should read the larger, slower, tense production as marking the event as more significant. Time and negation are carried by separate markers, not by this scaling alone.

Question 18Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer watches a signer describe a person's appearance and notices the signer uses a sequence of descriptive signs followed by a classifier showing the person's height. What is the viewer learning?

  1. The signer's feelings about the viewer
  2. Physical characteristics of the person being described Correct answer.
  3. The time when the description took place
  4. The person's opinions about the topic

Explanation

Descriptive signs and size-and-shape classifiers together convey physical characteristics such as height, build, and features. The viewer integrates these to build a mental image of the person. Opinions, time, and feelings are conveyed by other kinds of signs.

Question 19Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a single handshape to represent a group of people moving together. What kind of classifier is this, and what does the viewer understand?

  1. An instrument classifier showing a tool being used
  2. A group classifier showing collective movement of people Correct answer.
  3. A body-part classifier showing a limb
  4. A size-and-shape classifier showing an object's dimensions

Explanation

A handshape representing a group of people and moving as a unit is a group classifier, and the viewer understands collective movement. Instrument classifiers show how a tool is handled, body-part classifiers refer to limbs, and size-and-shape classifiers describe object dimensions. Recognising the classifier type guides the viewer's interpretation.

Question 20Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer begins a signed text by establishing the setting with a wide two-handed movement and then holds the hands still briefly. What is the viewer expected to do with this information?

  1. Use the established setting to interpret the events that follow Correct answer.
  2. Ignore it because only the verbs matter
  3. Treat it as the end of the text
  4. Treat it as a question about the setting

Explanation

The opening of a signed text often establishes the setting, and the viewer should carry that context forward to interpret subsequent events. The brief hold marks the completion of the set-up. Ignoring the setting would make later references harder to understand.

Question 21Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a pointing sign toward the addressee and then a questioning facial expression. What is the viewer most likely being asked?

  1. To ignore the rest of the text
  2. To leave the room immediately
  3. To repeat the signer's last sign
  4. To respond to a question directed at them Correct answer.

Explanation

Pointing to the addressee together with question facial marking signals a question directed at that person. The viewer should prepare to respond. Pointing alone without question marking would not necessarily request a response.

Question 22Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

While viewing a signed text, a viewer notices the signer's gaze alternating between two points in space during a dialogue. What does this gaze pattern help the viewer do?

  1. Determine the time of day of the dialogue
  2. Count the number of sentences in the text
  3. Identify which character is speaking at each moment Correct answer.
  4. Identify the signer's own name

Explanation

In constructed dialogue, gaze direction is tied to the character whose perspective is being taken, so alternating gaze helps the viewer track speaker turns. This is a key receptive skill for following signed conversations. Gaze does not encode time of day, names, or sentence counts.

Question 23Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a sign that starts high near the forehead and moves down to chest level with a smooth arc. In receptive terms, what should the viewer focus on to identify the sign?

  1. The end location alone
  2. The signer's clothing
  3. The arc shape alone
  4. The start and end locations together with handshape and movement Correct answer.

Explanation

Sign identity depends on the full set of parameters, including the starting and ending locations, handshape, and movement path. The viewer should integrate these rather than isolating one feature. Isolating the end location or the arc alone would not distinguish signs that share those features.

Question 24Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer describes a sequence of events and uses a clear pause and a change of handshape between each event. What does the viewer understand about the structure?

  1. That the text is presenting a series of distinct events in sequence Correct answer.
  2. That the text is asking a single yes/no question
  3. That the text is negating each event
  4. That the text has no structure at all

Explanation

Pauses and clear changes of handshape between productions mark boundaries between distinct events in a sequence. The viewer uses these boundaries to segment the narrative into separate events. Without such segmentation, the viewer might merge events into one.

Question 25Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a handshape that depicts holding a small object and moves it toward the mouth. What does the viewer most likely understand?

  1. An action of asking a question
  2. An action of eating or drinking something small Correct answer.
  3. An action of describing a tall building
  4. An action of driving a vehicle

Explanation

An instrument or handling classifier depicting a small object moved to the mouth represents eating or drinking. The viewer reads the action from the handshape and its path toward the mouth. Vehicle movement, questioning, and building height use different classifiers and locations.

Question 26Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer watches a signer describe a tall building. The signer uses both hands with flat palms facing each other, moving upward from waist level. In receptive viewing, what does this two-handed symmetrical upward movement most directly convey?

  1. The signer's emotional reaction to the building
  2. The number of floors in the building
  3. The location of the building in the town
  4. The vertical extent of the referent Correct answer.

Explanation

In receptive comprehension of depicting signs, two flat palms facing each other and rising frame a vertical span, so the viewer reads it as the height or extent of the referent. The movement itself encodes size and shape, not a count of floors, an attitude, or a map location.

Question 27Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

During a signed text, the signer raises the eyebrows, tilts the head forward and holds the final sign of a clause. Which function does this non-manual bundle most likely mark for the viewer?

  1. A yes/no question Correct answer.
  2. A rhetorical question
  3. A relative clause
  4. A conditional clause

Explanation

Raised eyebrows with a forward head tilt and a final hold are the classic non-manual marking of a yes/no question in signed languages. The viewer uses this bundle to know an answer is expected rather than a statement.

Question 28Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer narrates a story and, at one point, shifts the shoulders and head to the right and signs an utterance with an angry face, then shifts back to centre. How should the viewer interpret this shift?

  1. The signer is quoting or enacting a character positioned on the right Correct answer.
  2. The signer is asking the viewer to move to the right
  3. The signer is indicating that the event happened outdoors
  4. The signer is signalling the end of the story

Explanation

Body and head shifts in narrative signing are constructed-action markers that assign an utterance to a character or viewpoint located at that spatial position. The viewer tracks the shift to know who is speaking or acting.

Question 29Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed announcement, the signer first points to a location on the left, then signs a name, then later points back to that same location while continuing the topic. What does the viewer understand from the repeated point?

  1. The signer has lost track of the topic
  2. A new and different person has been introduced
  3. The announcement is about to end
  4. The same referent is being referred to again Correct answer.

Explanation

Points to an established locus function as pronouns or referent markers, so returning to the same point signals the same referent. This is the core of spatial referencing in receptive comprehension.

Question 30Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

While watching a signed text, the viewer sees the signer use a sequence of numeral signs with a slight pause between each and a listing handshape on the non-dominant hand. What is the viewer most likely being given?

  1. An enumerated list of items Correct answer.
  2. A question about quantity
  3. A single repeated word
  4. A description of one object's shape

Explanation

Numeral signs produced in sequence with pauses, often supported by a listing handshape, present items one by one. The viewer recognises this as enumeration rather than repetition or a question.

Question 31Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a sign in which the dominant hand moves toward the body while the palm orientation stays constant, and the face shows no question marking. In receptive viewing, what should the viewer focus on to identify the sign's meaning?

  1. Handshape, location, movement and palm orientation together Correct answer.
  2. Only the signer's facial expression
  3. Only the speed of the movement
  4. Only the position of the non-dominant hand

Explanation

Sign identification depends on the simultaneous parameters of handshape, location, movement and orientation. Facial expression adds grammatical information but does not by itself identify the lexical sign.

Question 32Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

During a signed narrative, the signer uses the non-dominant hand to hold a stationary handshape at chest height while the dominant hand performs several different actions around it. What does the viewer understand the stationary hand to represent?

  1. The signer's own opinion
  2. The end of the current episode
  3. A persistent referent that the actions are performed on Correct answer.
  4. A new character entering the story

Explanation

A held non-dominant handshape acts as a referential anchor, keeping an object or entity present while the dominant hand depicts events involving it. The viewer tracks the anchor across the actions.

Question 33Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer describes a route and moves the hand forward, then curves it to the left, then forward again, while the eyes track the moving hand. What is the viewer most likely receiving?

  1. A description of the signer's mood
  2. A question about the viewer's own route
  3. A depiction of a path of movement through space Correct answer.
  4. A list of separate locations with no connection

Explanation

Path depiction uses the hand's trajectory through signing space to trace movement, and the signer's gaze typically follows the traced path. The viewer reconstructs the route from that trajectory.

Question 34Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer notices the signer's eyebrows lower and come together while the head tilts slightly back during a clause. Which interpretation is most consistent with this non-manual pattern in receptive comprehension?

  1. The clause is a polite request for repetition
  2. The clause is a wh-question or a negative statement depending on the accompanying signs Correct answer.
  3. The clause marks the start of a new topic
  4. The clause is a direct quotation of a happy character

Explanation

Lowered, drawn-together brows are shared by wh-questions and negation in many signed languages, so the viewer uses the accompanying manual signs to disambiguate. This is a genuine receptive ambiguity resolved by context.

Question 35Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed text, the signer signs a conditional clause with raised brows, pauses, then signs the consequence while nodding. How does the viewer know which part is the condition?

  1. The nodding span marks the condition
  2. The raised-brow span before the pause marks the condition Correct answer.
  3. The longest clause is always the condition
  4. The clause with more fingerspelling is the condition

Explanation

Conditional constructions are marked by raised brows over the antecedent plus a boundary pause, with the consequence marked separately, often by a head nod. The viewer uses these non-manual spans to assign roles.

Question 36Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer tells a story and uses different handshapes for each character, keeping each handshape consistent whenever that character acts. What does the viewer gain from this consistency?

  1. A way to count how many events occur
  2. A signal that the story is not true
  3. A cue that the story is set in the past
  4. A reliable way to track which character is performing each action Correct answer.

Explanation

Consistent character handshapes function like labels that let the viewer follow referents across constructed action and dialogue. Switching handshape signals a change of actor.

Question 37Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

While viewing a signed text, the viewer sees the signer produce a sign with a repeated, tense, small movement and a grimacing face. How should the viewer interpret the combination?

  1. The sign is a neutral factual statement
  2. The sign is a question about the event
  3. The sign conveys difficulty or effort, with the face supporting the meaning Correct answer.
  4. The sign indicates the event happened long ago

Explanation

Tense, reduced movement plus a grimace adds evaluative meaning such as effort or difficulty to the lexical content. The viewer integrates manual and non-manual information rather than reading them separately.

Question 38Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a classifier handshape representing a vehicle and moves it along a curved path past a stationary classifier representing a building. What does the viewer understand about the relationship between the two referents?

  1. The vehicle is stationary and the building moves
  2. The vehicle moves relative to the fixed building Correct answer.
  3. The building moves toward the vehicle
  4. The two referents are the same object

Explanation

In classifier constructions, the moving hand depicts the mover and the stationary hand depicts the ground, so the viewer reads the vehicle as moving relative to the building. Motion is assigned to the hand that actually moves.

Question 39Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer begins a signed text by pointing to the viewer, then to self, then signs a greeting with raised brows and a smile. What is the viewer most likely receiving?

  1. A question about the viewer's name
  2. A command to leave the room
  3. A report about two other people
  4. A direct greeting addressed to the viewer Correct answer.

Explanation

Points to the addressee and to self establish the participant roles, and the greeting sign with a smile confirms a direct address. The viewer understands they are being greeted.

Question 40Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed narrative, the signer describes an event, then repeats the same event with a slower movement and a more intense facial expression. What is the viewer most likely to infer?

  1. The event happened twice
  2. The event is being questioned
  3. The signer made an error and corrected it
  4. The repetition emphasises or intensifies the event Correct answer.

Explanation

Repetition with increased size, slowness or affect is an intensification strategy in signed narrative, not a claim that the event recurred. The viewer reads it as emphasis.

Question 41Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer watches a signer describe a person and notices the signer's eye gaze directed upward and to the side while the hands describe a tall figure. What does the gaze most likely contribute?

  1. It shows the signer is bored
  2. It signals the end of the description
  3. It marks a yes/no question
  4. It indicates the height or position of the referent being described Correct answer.

Explanation

Gaze direction in depiction often co-occurs with and reinforces the spatial properties being described, such as height. The viewer uses gaze as an additional cue to the referent's location or size.

Question 42Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a sequence in which the first sign is held longer than usual while the signer maintains eye contact with the viewer before continuing. What function does the viewer most likely assign to this hold?

  1. It changes the sign's handshape category
  2. It indicates the sign is a noun
  3. It shows the signer forgot the next sign
  4. It marks a boundary or invites a response Correct answer.

Explanation

An extended hold with maintained eye contact typically marks a discourse boundary or creates a slot for the addressee to respond. The viewer uses it to anticipate a turn or a new unit.

Question 43Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

In a signed text, the signer uses a first-person pronoun, then switches to a third-person point, then returns to first person within one sentence. How should the viewer track the referents?

  1. By ignoring the points and relying on lip pattern
  2. By assuming all points refer to the signer
  3. By following each point to its established locus and noting the return Correct answer.
  4. By counting the number of signs between points

Explanation

Pronominal points refer to established loci, so the viewer follows the locus of each point and notes when the signer returns to an earlier one. This preserves who did what across the sentence.

Question 44Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer describes two objects, placing one high on the left and one low on the right, then signs a comparison verb moving from the left object toward the right object. What does the viewer understand?

  1. The right object is being moved to the left
  2. The two objects are identical
  3. The comparison is about time rather than size
  4. The left object is being compared with the right object along the established dimension Correct answer.

Explanation

Comparison in signed discourse uses the spatial arrangement of the two referents plus a directional verb that maps the comparison onto that layout. The viewer reads the direction of the verb as the direction of the comparison.

Question 45Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer notices that a signer alternates gaze between two lateral points while the hands produce short utterances attributed to each point in turn. What is the viewer watching?

  1. A yes/no question addressed to the viewer
  2. A single narrator describing one object
  3. A constructed dialogue between two referents Correct answer.
  4. A list of unrelated vocabulary items

Explanation

Alternating gaze between two loci, paired with utterances attributed to each, is the signature of constructed dialogue. The viewer uses gaze to assign each utterance to its speaker.

Question 46Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer uses a single flat-hand handshape to represent a surface, then moves a small object classifier across it while the flat hand stays still. What does the viewer understand the flat hand to be?

  1. A person speaking
  2. A time marker
  3. A ground or surface against which the object moves Correct answer.
  4. The object being moved

Explanation

In classifier constructions the stationary flat hand typically depicts a ground or surface, while the moving classifier depicts the figure. The viewer assigns roles based on which hand moves.

Question 47Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer produces a sign near the forehead and then a sign near the chest in the same clause, with a smooth transition and no pause. In receptive viewing, what does the change of location most likely reflect?

  1. A change in the number of referents
  2. A grammatical error by the signer
  3. A difference in the lexical specification of the two signs Correct answer.
  4. A shift from statement to question

Explanation

Location is a phonological parameter, so signs produced at different body locations are simply different lexical items. A smooth transition without pause indicates fluent production, not an error or a grammatical shift.

Question 48Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A viewer sees a signer use a questioning facial expression while pointing at the viewer and then holding the hand still. What response does the viewer understand is expected?

  1. The viewer should leave
  2. Applause from the audience
  3. The signer will continue without waiting
  4. A signed answer from the viewer Correct answer.

Explanation

A point to the addressee plus question non-manuals and a held hand creates an adjacency pair that invites a signed response. The viewer recognises the turn transition.

Question 49Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

During a signed text about the past, the signer moves the hand backward over the shoulder while producing a time-related sign. What does the viewer understand this backward movement to indicate?

  1. Reference to a future event
  2. A change of topic to a new person
  3. A question about the present
  4. Reference to a time before the present Correct answer.

Explanation

Backward movement along the timeline is conventionally associated with past reference in many signed languages. The viewer combines this with the time sign to place the event before now.

Question 50Receptive Sign Language Comprehension (viewing and understanding signed texts)

A signer narrates and, midway, breaks eye contact with the viewer to look at the hands while producing a rapid sequence of depicting signs. How should the viewer interpret this change?

  1. The signer has ended the narrative
  2. The signer has shifted into a depicting or constructed segment Correct answer.
  3. The signer is signalling that the content is unimportant
  4. The signer is asking the viewer a question

Explanation

Breaking eye contact to watch one's own hands often accompanies a shift into depiction, where the hands carry the scene. The viewer recognises this as a change of discourse mode rather than closure or a question.