William C. Stokoe was a pioneer in helping American Sign Language be recognized as a legitimate language during the 1960s. He developed a system for describing signs, but it had some issues.

His system only addressed the handshape, location and movement of signs, leaving out the other parameters of palm orientation and non-manual markers (NMM). Or rather, the palm orientation was absorbed into the movement. One of the greatest problems with Stokoe’s method, however, was that it wasn’t precise enough, especially in regard to the location of a sign. For example: the signs, HEAVEN, SCHOOL, and CHILDREN would all show the same location in Stokoe’s system (the torso), but you’ll notice if you produce each sign, they really occur in very different areas of the body. Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait.

So while Stokoe’s system was useful in that it brought to linguists’ attention that American Sign Language is, indeed, a legitimate language governed by rules that could be described, it was not capable of fully expressing all aspects of the visual form of communication.

After Stokoe’s transcription system came the Liddell Johnson Movement-Hold Model. They used a system of movement and holding, along with descriptions of the other four parameters to describe signs. This system was better able to show when a sign changed more than one parameter at the same time, such as handshape and location, as in the sign FASCINATING. It also incorporated information for what each hand does in a sign, which is especially useful when a sign uses different handshapes for each hand, such as DISCUSS or WEEK. 

Some problems the Liddel Johnson system solved were that it equated signed languages with spoken, lending more credence to the fact that signed languages are legitimate langauges, and it was a much more detailed and accurate description system for signs, including very precise handshape descriptions and even specific descriptions for thumb placement. The specificity of the system means it is useful for signed languages other than ASL as well. (45)

I find this information fascinating, as I don’t remember learning any of it when I was in ASL classes. Some of the books we used had glosses with topic/comment structure, NMM and classifiers noted, but they didn’t give you any insight into how to produce the signs. I believe it would be beneficial for all ASL students to learn at least a little about these types of systems, and even to practice using them to gain a better understanding of ASL sign phonology.

Valli, C., Lucas, C., Mulrooney, K. J., & Rankin, M. N. (2011). Linguistics of American Sign Language: an introduction. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.