Figure 2. The distinction between syllables and morphemes in the novel ASL stimlus items.

Note that one-syllable signs have a single movement, whereas two-syllable signs have two movements (marked by arrows). Morphemes, by contrast, are defined by the number of handshapes. For example, the monomorphemic monosyllabic sign has one group of active fingers (the closed fist with the thumb positioned infront of the fingers, the “S” handshape in ASL) whereas in the monosyllabic bimorphemic sign, there are two groups of active fingers - the “S” handshape changes to an “F” handshape (the tip of the pointer finger touching the tip of the thumb to form a small circle with the other three fingers extended).