käsisana

Käsisana is a Finnish term that literally means “hand word.” It refers to a sign produced with the hand to convey a word or concept in sign languages or gesture-based communication. The word is formed from käs- (hand) and sana (word). In contemporary Finnish, the standard label for signed languages is viittomakieli, and käsisana is not a formal linguistic term but a descriptive or historical expression found in some texts to denote a single sign or a manual element within a sign system.

In practical usage, a käsisana can be a lexical sign with a conventional meaning within a sign language, or, depending on the context, a word spelled out using a manual alphabet (finger spelling). Sign languages encode meaning through a combination of handshape, orientation, movement, location, and non-manual signals such as facial expressions, so a käsisana represents one unit of meaning within that system rather than typical spoken speech.

The term is more common in educational or descriptive discussions and may appear in older or more general writings about manual communication. It is not the preferred term in modern linguistic or Deaf education contexts, where viittomakieli or specific sign names are used. Nevertheless, käsisana highlights the manual modality by which many sign languages encode language and demonstrates the distinction between hand-based signs and spoken words.

Related concepts include viittomakieli (sign language) and käsimerkit (manual signs).

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