From: cbmvax!uunet!infmx!godzilla!cortesi (David Cortesi)
Message-Id: <9105171733.AA19038@godzilla.informix.com>
Subject: an interesting signing tid-bit
To: lojban-list@snark.thyrsus.com (lojban mailing list)
Date: Fri, 17 May 91 10:33:08 PDT
Status: RO

The following is from sci.lang for those who don't receive that
newsgroup (sudden thought: is there anybody on this list who
does not read sci.lang?) -- where there has been some discussion
of American (and other) Sign Languages as artificial languages.
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2-  How does ASL coin new words?

ASL can create new words in a variety of ways.  ASL makes use of compunding
in much the same way other languages do.  ASL is also a predicate classifier
language;  this means that new words are being constantly created on the spot.
ASL can borrow from spoken languages using the manual alphabet.  When signers
decide that a fingerspelled word is to be borrowed into the language, rather
than just used in its original form, the fingerspelled word undergoes
a series of phonological processes and no longer behaves as a fingerspelled
word.  This new word behaves as a sign in all respects, syntactically, 
phonologically, etc.
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Sound familiar?