TSL | Taiwan Sing Language Gleaning
Horizontal Timeline in Taiwan Sign Language
Taiwan Sign Language employs two timelines. The horizontal timeline extends from in front of the body to behind the body. The position at the body refers to now/present/today, the part of the line behind the body refers to the past, and the part of the line in front of the body refers to the future. The larger the movement and the farther away the sign is held from the body, the farther it is from the present. The smaller the movement and the closer the sign is held to the body, the closer it is to the present.In addition, numbers are often used to specify the length of time from the present. E.g. yesterday (one day ago), tomorrow (one day into the future from now), three days later ( three days into the future from now), last week (seven days ago).
Example sentence
- It was long time ago./It has been a long time. The earthquake happened in 1964. Let me use the calculator. Oh, it was 44 years ago.
- In the past, everything was cheap. It was totally different from today. The house was cheap. It was less than 200 thousand dollars.
- Famous? Dr. Li? Lu? Oh yes, Dr. Lu is nice. There was a famous doctor called Dr. Lu. but he passed away a long time ago.
- He was difficult when he was young.
- In front of the temple. I have operated my stand over there. I know. I know. It's not like that. People used to carry my wares and sell them on the street. But today, people usually have their own stores.