Chapter 2. In your face

Abstract

This chapter begins by describing impolite forms of signing reported for many sign languages that seem to be based on the visual modality of this form of communication. Other im/polite conventions are influenced by the setting, register, type of speech act, or the perceived signing ability of the addressee. Some signs are perceived as impolite by signers of other cultures because their handshape or location components have impolite connotations in their culture; others reflect historically changing norms of the society. A cultural aversion to what is perceived as bragging seems to be shared by hearing German/Swiss German speakers and deaf signers of Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS).