ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of research on sign languages, researchers have been intrigued by the
fact that, in many cases, the forms of the signs resemble or bring to mind in some manner
the forms of the object, action, or event they denote. There is thus an iconic relation of
resemblance between the sign and its referent. One important consequence of iconicity in
signs is that even naive, hearing observers who are not familiar with a particular sign
language may more or less appropriately “guess” the meaning of a sign or at least see
some connection between the sign and the object, event, or action it stands for.
