Why does a native signer initially struggle to interpret a conceptually similar signed sentence produced by a signer from a geographically distant and previously unknown sign language?

💡 Explanation

Native signers struggle with geographically distant sign languages because phonological variation introduces unfamiliar handshapes, movements, and locations, resulting in low recognition of individual signs. Therefore, comprehension decreases, rather than relying on universal iconicity or invariant spatial grammar because localized phonological conventions vary across sign languages.

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