INFORMATION SHEET NO. 1

SPATIAL REFERENCING

Spatial referencing refers to setting up people, objects and things in the space. This can be done in three different ways:

1. Setting up the nouns and pronouns around you (the signer)
2. Setting up the nouns and pronouns around an object
3. Setting up nouns and pronouns in geographical space in relationship to a map or a room.

1. Setting up the nouns and pronouns around you (the signer). For example, you (the signer) are talking about Robert, Jane, and Mary. You simply point to place near you, right, left, or center, and fingerspell the name of the person who would be standing there. For example, you point to the left, and spell Robert, the center and spell Jane, the right and spell Mary. 
2. Then whenever you want to refer to Robert, Jane, or Mary, you don’t need to respell their name, you simple point to the place you put them (spatial reference).
3. Setting up the nouns and pronouns around an object. For example, if you have a car, you can have a person standing near the car or in back of the car, a dog in the car, a bird on the car, etc. All of this is done by "putting the car" in a space in front of you. This means, you sign the word "car" and use the appropriate classifier to show where it is in space. Then you use the sign or the classifier for the person, dog, cat, bird, etc. and place that sign on or near the car in the appropriate location. (This is called spatial referencing.)
4. Setting up nouns and pronouns in geographical space, in relationship to a map or a room. You can set up Texas, Oregon, and Washington by simply placing them in front of you as if you were drawing them on a map. For example, Washington would be at the top of the space, Oregon below it, and Texas farther below, and to the right. Or in a room, you would outline the shape of the room (as if you were standing in the doorway of the room), and place the couch, tv, stereo, chair, etc. in the appropriate places "in the room" so that you have spatially referenced them. (This is called spatial referencing.,)

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