Which pair is a classic example of a minimal pair in sign language?

Which pair is a classic example of a minimal pair in sign language?

• A. Funny and sugar
• B. Happy and sad
• C. Book and paper
• D. Open and close

Answer: (A)

Minimal pairs show how a single change in sign form yields a different meaning. In sign language, two signs are a minimal pair when they are identical in everything except one phonological parameter—such as handshape, movement, location, or orientation—so a small adjustment produces a new word. Funny and sugar illustrate this idea because the signs share the same basic form and are produced in the same way, with only one aspect different. That one small difference is enough to switch from one meaning to the other, illustrating how precise changes in sign parameters affect meaning. The other options don’t fit as cleanly because their signs require more than a single, isolated change to move from one meaning to the other, or they involve forms that aren’t closely matched in the same way.

Minimal pairs show how a single change in sign form yields a different meaning. In sign language, two signs are a minimal pair when they are identical in everything except one phonological parameter—such as handshape, movement, location, or orientation—so a small adjustment produces a new word.

Funny and sugar illustrate this idea because the signs share the same basic form and are produced in the same way, with only one aspect different. That one small difference is enough to switch from one meaning to the other, illustrating how precise changes in sign parameters affect meaning.

The other options don’t fit as cleanly because their signs require more than a single, isolated change to move from one meaning to the other, or they involve forms that aren’t closely matched in the same way.