Location (sign language)

In sign languages, location, or tab, refers to specific places that the hands occupy as they are used to form signs. In Stokoe terminology it is known as the TAB, an abbreviation of tabula. Location is one of five components, or parameters, of a sign, along with handshape (DEZ), orientation (ORI), movement (SIG), and nonmanual features. A particular specification of a location, such as the chest or the temple of the head, can be considered a phoneme. Different sign languages can make use of different locations. In other words, different sign languages can have different inventories of location phonemes. rdf:langString