In ESL, one of the types of adjectival modification involves the incorporation of the modifier into the articulation of the sign itself. This is particularly the case with modifiers for size. For example, in (100) the hands articulate the sign for APPLE and at the same time modify it to indicate the approximate size of the item, viz., the apple is big:

In example (101), the same kind of modification is used for referring simultaneously to the hair and to its length:

Size modifiers themselves may undergo modification, which is conveyed by non-manual markers, (e.g. smallness is emphasised by squinted eyes, whereas bigness by wide-open eyes). Thus ‘(a) very big pear’ would be signed as one sign accompanied by a non-manual element (wide-open eyes) which, in order to be expressed, for example, in Estonian or in English would require a noun phrase consisting of three elements: ‘väga suur pirn’ (or ‘(a) very big pear’) respectively.

The second type of adjectival modification in ESL noun phrases revealed by the data of the present study is a modification usually referred to in sign language linguistics as bracketing. In the case of bracketing, the adjectival modifier both precedes the head noun, or the base sign, and follows it. As an example, see (102) where the noun sign EGG, being modified by the adjective WHITE, is further modified by the sign for TINY (in italics) occurring both in the pre- and post-nominal position:

Thirdly, adjectival modification can also be either pre- or post-nominal. Adjectival modification in this case shows a similar kind of sign order flexibility pertaining to the head noun (or the base sign) in the noun phrase as pointing signs/indexes discussed in 6.3.1.

The general tendency for adjectives to occur either before or after the noun sign they modify could be explained by the same distinction between restrictive and non-restrictive modification as in the case of pointing signs functioning as definitizers (in 6.3.1.). Following Givon (1990:473),

[r]estrictive modifiers restrict the domain of the noun in terms of specific identification. They thus have the potential of being contrastive. Non-restrictive modifiers, on the other hand, tend to supply information that is habitually known as part of the normal characterisation of the individual in question. They thus have the potential of forming a compound lexical no un together with their head noun.

I am inclined to purport that it is this pragmatic principle which controls the word-order variation of adjectival modifiers in Estonian Sign Language, and not the influence of Estonian. If it were only the influence of the pre-modifying word order in the noun phrase of the Estonian language on the noun phrase of ESL, which in theory should use (only) post-nominal modification (see Ch.7), then the occurrence of adjectival modifiers either pre- or post-nominally should appear to be more chaotic. The data of the present study display some general tendencies. The following examples illustrate adjectival modification in the pre-nominal position (indicated in bold):

The general tendency which emerges from the examples above reveals the (high) potential of a pre-nominal adjective to create a generic reference. In examples (103) and (104), the adjectives BLACK and BLUE, respectively, do not serve to indicate any specific characteristic of the entity which the head noun is referring to, (i.e. they do not restrict the information). Instead, the adjectives combine to create a compound expression together with the modified head noun. Similarly, in example (105) the preceding adjective RED appears to modify its head noun/base sign non-restrictively: here RED is used to denote a characteristic quality and is presupposed rather than conveyed as informative or new data. The same applies to examples (106) and (107) where the premodifying adjective does not appear to convey any specific or restrictive information.

In contrast, adjectives occurring in the post-nominal position show a tendency to establish a specific or a unique reference. Consider the following examples where the modifying adjective (in bold) follows its head, or the base sign: