Sign language

Tests: 5 of 10 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 9 of 14 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 32 of the language course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · right ✓

Your mate goes "sign language is just mime, innit, anyone gets it." What's true?

1. It's only for counting — no support
2. It's English with hands — no support
3. It's a full language with grammar you have to learn — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. He's right, it's only mime that anyone can follow without lessons — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 6: «British Sign Language (BSL) is a full language with its own grammar, different from English; it uses hand shapes, movements, the face and the body.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); the same thing acted on «full language» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · wrong ✗

Your cousin thinks there's "one world sign language". What would happen if she used BSL in New York?

1. Nobody uses signs in New York — score 0
2. Her signs would turn into ASL — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. Many ASL signers wouldn't understand her — ✓ the right answer · score 0
4. Everyone would understand her perfectly, since signs are the same — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 32, line 8: «American Sign Language (ASL) and BSL are different languages; ASL is related to French Sign Language.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «asl» (+4). The right option, 3, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · wrong ✗

A Gen Alpha kid says "the interpreter on telly is lowkey sus, Deaf people can just read subs." ("Sus" means suspicious; "subs" means subtitles.) What's fairer?

1. He's right, interpreters are pointless because every Deaf person reads subtitles easily — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. For many Deaf people sign is their first language, so interpreters matter — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Subtitles are only for hearing people — no support
4. Interpreters are actors — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · right ✓

Your grandad shouts at a Deaf neighbour to be heard. What's better?

1. Turn away and talk — no support
2. Write very fast — no support
3. Shout even louder — no support
4. Face her, speak clearly, and don't shout — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 14: «In BSL a simple "hello" is a wave; when talking to a Deaf person, face them, speak clearly if they lip-read, and don't shout.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «speak» (+2); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, a signer keeps a totally blank face while asking a question. What's missing?

1. Facial grammar, like raised eyebrows for a question — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A second person — no support
3. A hat — no support
4. Nothing, because faces don't matter at all in signing — ← Mova's choice · score -1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 4: «Faces matter as much as hands: raised eyebrows can turn a sentence into a question, so a signer's expressions are grammar, not rudeness.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «matter» (+3). Against it: the same doer «faces» (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · wrong ✗

Max's grandad from Cornwall says "'tis just waving about, my 'ansum." ("My 'ansum" is a friendly word, like dear.) What's the fair answer?

1. He's right, it's waving — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It's a kind of dance — no support
3. BSL is a real language, recognised in UK law — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It's only for children — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · right ✓

Your American cousin fingerspells with one hand and says you're doing it wrong with two. Who's right?

1. Only your cousin, because one hand is the world rule — no support
2. Both: ASL uses one hand and BSL uses two — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. Neither, you must use your feet — no support
4. Only you — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 9: «BSL fingerspelling uses two hands, ASL fingerspelling uses one; fingerspelling is for names and words without a sign.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «use» (+3); the same thing acted on «two hands» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · right ✓

What would happen if a Deaf baby only ever saw sign language at home?

1. She would only learn to wave — score 4
2. She would learn sign language, even babbling with her hands — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. She would never learn any language at all, because language needs sounds — score 4
4. She would learn spoken English by herself — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 31, line 1: «Babies start learning language before they can say a single word: newborns already prefer their mother's voice and the sounds of the language they heard before…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «learn» (+2); the same doer «babies» (+2); the same thing acted on «language» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · wrong ✗

Your Kiwi mate says "sweet as, my NZ signs work with BSL heaps." ("Sweet as" means great; "heaps" means a lot.) Is he right?

1. Yes, because NZ uses ASL — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. No, NZ has no sign language — no support
3. Yes, NZ Sign Language, BSL and Auslan are one family — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. No, they're totally unrelated — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · right ✓

Danylo's new classmates say "just sign in Ukrainian, we'll get it." What's the kind and true answer?

1. All signs are the same everywhere, so Ukrainian signs will work fine in London — no support
2. He should stop signing — no support
3. They can guess every sign — no support
4. Ukrainian Sign Language is different; help him learn BSL and respect his own — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 11: «In 2022 a new British law said that BSL is a real language of England, Scotland and Wales.», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «bsl» (+4); the same thing acted on «real language» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises British Sign Language?

1. A system of mime devoid of grammatical rules — no support
2. A complete language possessing its own grammar, distinct from English — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. A manual representation of English words, presented strictly in English order — no support
4. A dialect of American Sign Language — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 32, line 8: «American Sign Language (ASL) and BSL are different languages; ASL is related to French Sign Language.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «asl» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the function performed by raised eyebrows in sign languages.

1. The expression of rudeness towards the interlocutor — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The indication of a spelling error — no support
3. The marking of a yes/no question as a grammatical feature — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The termination of the conversation — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning British and American Sign Languages.

1. They constitute distinct languages, the latter being related to French Sign Language — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
2. Both derive from Auslan — no support
3. They constitute one and the same language, notwithstanding minor differences of accent — score 4
4. They are mutually intelligible in all respects — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 32, line 8: «American Sign Language (ASL) and BSL are different languages; ASL is related to French Sign Language.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «asl» (+3); the same property (+3); the same receiver «french sign language» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

In respect of fingerspelling, ascertain the number of hands employed in British and in American Sign Language respectively.

1. One in both languages alike — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Two in British, one in American — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. One in British, two in American — no support
4. Two in both languages alike — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/32-sign-language/