Chroneme

Okay, let's talk about something called chronemes. You know how words have different sounds and you can make different words by changing just one sound? Well, in sign language, there are little parts of signs called chronemes that change the meaning too! They're like the building blocks of sign language.

Just like how a word can be broken down into different sounds, a sign can be broken down into different movements. These movements are the chronemes. They're like the ABCs of sign language.

Now, let's imagine you're trying to sign the word "cat." You start by making the sign for "c" and then you change it to the sign for "a" and then you change it again to the sign for "t." Each of these changes is a different chroneme! And when you put them all together, you get the sign for "cat."

Chronemes are really important in sign language because they help us understand the meaning of different signs. Just like how putting different letters together can make different words, putting different chronemes together can make different signs with different meanings. So, when you're learning sign language, it's really important to understand the different chronemes and how they work!