In this work, we address structural, iconic and social dimensions of the emergence of phonological systems in two emerging sign languages. A comparative analysis is conducted of data from a village sign language (Central Taurus Sign Language; CTSL) and a community sign language (Nicaraguan Sign Language; NSL). Both languages are approximately 50 years old, but the sizes and social structures of their respective communities are quite different. We find important differences between the two languages’ handshape inventories. CTSL's handshape inventory has changed more slowly than NSL's across the same time period. In addition, while the inventories of the two languages are of similar size, handshape complexity is higher in NSL than in CTSL. This work provides an example of the unique and important perspective that emerging sign languages offer regarding longstanding questions about how phonological systems emerge.

在这项工作中，我们讨论了两种新兴手语中语音系统出现的结构、标志和社会维度。对来自乡村手语（Central Taurus Sign Language；CTSL）和社区手语（Nicaraguan Sign Language；NSL）的数据进行了比较分析。两种语言都有大约 50 年的历史，但它们各自社区的规模和社会结构却大不相同。我们发现两种语言的手形清单之间存在重要差异。CTSL 的手型库存在同一时期的变化比 NSL 的要慢。此外，虽然两种语言的清单大小相似，但 NSL 中的手形复杂度高于 CTSL。