science

Mouthing

Mouthing is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mouthing rather than just read about it. In short: In sign language, mouthing is the production of visual syllables with the mouth while signing. That is, signers sometimes say or mouth a word in a spoken language at the same time as producing the sign for it.

Key takeaways

Mouthing belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mouthing to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mouthing from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In sign language, mouthing is the production of visual syllables with the mouth while signing. That is, signers sometimes say or mouth a word in a spoken language at the same time as producing the sign for it. Mouthing is one of the many ways in which the face and mouth is used while signing. Although not present in all sign languages, and not in all signers, where it does occur it may be an essential (that is, phonemic) element of a sign, distinguishing signs which would otherwise be homophones; in other cases a sign may seem to be flat and incomplete without mouthing even if it is unambiguous. Other signs use a combination of mouth movements and hand movements to indicate the sign; for example, the ASL sign for not-yet includes a mouth gesture where the mouth is slightly open. Mouthing often originates from oralist education, where sign and speech are used together. Thus mouthing may preserve an often abbreviated rendition of the spoken translation of a sign. In educated Ugandan Sign Language, for example, where both English and Ganda are influential, the word for very, Av", is accompanied by the mouthed syllable nyo, from Ganda nnyo 'very', and abuse, jO*[5]v", is accompanied by vu, from Ganda onvuma. Similarly, the USL sign finish, t55bf, is mouthed fsh, an abbreviation of English finish, and deaf, }HxU, is mouthed df. However, mouthing may also be iconic, as in the word for hot (of food or drink) in ASL, UtCbf", where the mouthing suggests something hot in the mouth and does not correspond to the English word "hot". Mouthing is an essential element of cued speech and simultaneous sign and speech, both for the direct instruction of oral language and to disambiguate cases where there is not a one-to-one correspondence between sign and speech. However, mouthing does not always reflect the corresponding spoken word; when signing 'thick' in Auslan (Australian Sign Language), for example, the mouthing is equivalent to spoken fahth. In a 2008 edition of Sign Language & Linguistics, there is a study that discusses similarities and differences in mouthing between three different European sign languages. It goes into detail about mouthings, adverbial mouth gestures, semantically empty mouth gestures, enacting mouth gestures, and whole face gestures. Linguists do not agree on how to best analyze mouthing. It is an open question as to whether they form a part of the phonological system or whether they are a product of simultaneous code-blending. Another question is whether mouthings are an inherent part of the lexicon or not.

See also Expression (sign language) Initialized sign Lip reading

References Dorothy Lule and Lars Wallin, 2010, "Transmission of sign languages in Africa". In Brentari, ed, Sign Languages. Cambridge University Press.

External links The dictionary definition of mouthing at Wiktionary

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mouthing

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mouthing claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mouthing before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mouthing ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mouthing

In research: Mouthing appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mouthing in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mouthing is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Linguistic morphology, Linguistic morphology stubs, Mouth, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mouthing outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mouthing in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mouthing means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mouthing out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mouthing in simple terms?

Why does Mouthing matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mouthing?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mouthing.