Principal is represented by which sign decomposition?

Principal is represented by which sign decomposition?

• A. Program + Agent
• B. Programer
• C. program (CL:P up and over CL:B) + agent
• D. Programmer + Agent

Answer: (C)

This item tests how a sign can express a role by combining a base concept with a classifier that shows who is in charge. For principal, the standard form starts with the base sign for program to indicate the domain, then adds a specific agent classifier to show the person who leads that program. The move where the P-hand (CL:P) travels up and over the B-hand (CL:B) signals a person acting in charge, separating the agent from the program and marking leadership. Put together, this creates the meaning “the principal—the person in charge of the program.” If you instead used a plain combination of program and a generic agent, you wouldn’t convey the leadership aspect as clearly. And signs like programmer refer to a different occupation entirely, so they don’t match the intended sense of principal.

This item tests how a sign can express a role by combining a base concept with a classifier that shows who is in charge. For principal, the standard form starts with the base sign for program to indicate the domain, then adds a specific agent classifier to show the person who leads that program. The move where the P-hand (CL:P) travels up and over the B-hand (CL:B) signals a person acting in charge, separating the agent from the program and marking leadership. Put together, this creates the meaning “the principal—the person in charge of the program.”

If you instead used a plain combination of program and a generic agent, you wouldn’t convey the leadership aspect as clearly. And signs like programmer refer to a different occupation entirely, so they don’t match the intended sense of principal.