Why does a sign's meaning change dramatically when the handshape is altered slightly, even if location and movement are preserved in signed languages?

💡 Explanation

Minimal pairs in signed languages highlight the significance of small phonological differences; because meaning differentiation relies on contrasting features, altering a handshape creates a different sign. Therefore, meaning changes, rather than being retained, as other parameters alone do not suffice.

• Why does misinterpreting a culture-specific idiom lead to communication breakdown in intercultural interactions, compared to literal phrases?
• A satellite communication link experiences signal degradation due to atmospheric interference. Which technique best enhances reliable message delivery by directly addressing this issue?
• A bilingual speaker rapidly switches between English and Spanish; which outcome is most likely observed regarding aspiration?
• Why does the phoneme inventory size differ significantly across languages?
• Why does optical kerning in advanced typesetting systems sometimes produce aesthetically inferior results compared to manual adjustments for specific typeface pairings?
• If speakers of a language without relative spatial terms (e.g., 'left' and 'right' are always absolute) must instruct a robot to navigate an obstacle course, which consequence follows?