The American Deaf story-teller Stephen Ryan has listed some of the features of ASL storytelling structure as a guide to “good” storytelling. We can see them in BSL too.
- Symmetry in use of the hands and balanced use of signing space
- Non-manual features – especially exaggerated facial expression
- Eye-gaze and aperture
- Classifier constructions to represent the noun, its location and action, and its physical features, but not for more than five seconds at a time
- Referents are clearly established in space
- Minimal use of fingerspelling
- Use of symbols, moods and emotions
- Roleshifting
- Creation of characters as they are introduced – including their physical attributes and clothes
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