Which is an acceptable word order in ASL? Explain it briefly and select one from the following options from below
Select one: –
A. CLOSE THE BOOK.
B. CLOSE BOOK.
C. BOOK CLOSE YOU.
D. BOOK YOU CLOSE.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is B. CLOSE BOOK.
American Sign Language (ASL) follows its own grammatical rules that are distinct from English. While ASL is visually based and does not have a direct word-for-word translation with English, it generally uses a topic-comment structure instead of the subject-verb-object order that is common in English. This word order can vary depending on the situation, but ASL tends to favor a specific structure where the topic is presented first, followed by a comment or action.
Here’s a breakdown of the options:
A. CLOSE THE BOOK.
This is not an acceptable word order in ASL. ASL typically does not use definite articles such as “the” in the same way English does. The phrase would be simplified to “CLOSE BOOK.”
B. CLOSE BOOK.
This is the correct and most common word order in ASL. In this case, “CLOSE” is the verb (action), and “BOOK” is the object of the action. ASL often omits the subject or pronoun in such simple statements if the context is clear, and the sentence is still understood.
C. BOOK CLOSE YOU.
This order might be used in some contexts where a topic-comment structure is required, such as if you’re stating a fact about the book or using more advanced sentence structures. However, it does not sound natural for a simple command.
D. BOOK YOU CLOSE.
This structure is not typically used in ASL, as it doesn’t follow the natural topic-comment order. It sounds unnatural and would confuse a native signer.
In summary, ASL often omits articles and other words that are necessary in English. The most common structure is the topic-comment system, where the topic (in this case, “BOOK”) comes first, followed by the verb or action (like “CLOSE”). This makes option B the correct answer.