ASL Final
Backchanneling (when you show you are following along)
- "oh I see" sign - head nods - if confused: either furrow your brows and shake your head or sign again twice with eyes squinted
Common Misconceptions
- ASL is a universal sign language used worldwide - It is English produced with the hands - It is simply gestures - It is easy to learn - Braille and ASL are the same thing
Common Sentence Types
1) Regular sentences or statements 2) Wh-Questions are questions that require a response other than yes or no. Example: "What is your name?" [Signer's eyebrows are furrowed, indicating a Wh-Question]. 3) Yes/No Questions [Signer's eyebrows are raised, indicating a Yes/No Question].
Pronouns
1) You: Points towards the person you're talking to. 2) I/me: Points at your own chest. 3) They/she/he/it (singular): Points to the side. 4) Them/they (plural): Sweeps pointing finger in an arc or in a circular manner. 5) We/us: Point to your shoulder then arc outward to your other shoulder.
Possessive Pronouns
1) Your/yours: Flat hand towards the person you're talking to. 2) My/mine: Flat hand on your chest. 3) Their/hers/his/its (singular): Flat hand to the side. 4) Their (plural): Sweeps flat hand in an arc or in a circular manner. 5) Our: Land your flat hand on its side on one shoulder then arc outward to your other shoulder.
Academic Degrees
A bachelor's degree the sign is usually BA. Master's degree the sign is MA. Take note: When signing MA - for the "M", the palm faces you, then transitions outwards to A. [Signer twists the wrist while signing MA] For Doctorate degrees such as a PhD, or EdD, sign PHD. [Signer twists the H when signing PHD]
Referents
For the first time, you want to fingerspell Ali's name, then point to a space near you, setting up what is called a "referent". Then point to that space again - the listener will know you are referring to Ali. Point to the space every time you talk about Ali. You don't have to fingerspell Ali's name repeatedly.
Have and Have-To
HAVE: BOOK I HAVE [The sign HAVE here looks like MINE, POSSESS] [In English, that sentence would be translated to "I have a book."] HAVE-TO: BOOK READ I HAVE-TO [The sign HAVE-TO looks like a hook coming down]
Names with Apostrophes
If it's a restaurant called "Mary's", then you sign the ('s) by twisting your hand when you fingerspell 'S'. If you were referring to shoes that belong to Mary, then you would sign MARY THEIR SHOES.
Break
If your car broke down, a better sign choice would be CAR BREAK-DOWN [Signer signs ENGINE-BREAK-DOWN]. If you're broke, you'd sign MONEY BROKE [Signer signs with a flat hand, palm down, tapping side of neck with side of hand once]. If you're going on a SPRING BREAK, you'd sign SPRING VACATION, moving VACATION once. If your class has a break, you'd sign FOUR, then split it in half with your other hand. If you and your sweetheart broke up, you'd sign SWEETHEART then sign two people jumping up and away from each other.
Noun-Verb Pairs
Nouns are repeated twice, while verbs tend to move once, or move in a certain direction. Here are some examples: CHAIR - moves twice. SIT - same sign, but moves once. EXAMPLE - moves twice. SHOW - same sign, but moves once. SCISSORS - moves twice. CUT - same sign, but moves once.
ASL Grammar Structure
Object Subject Verb (Store I go-to)
CODA
Children of Deaf Adults
Higher Education
Deaf people from all over the United States tend to enroll in particular colleges and universities. They are the following: California State University - Northridge (CSUN), Ohlone College, Lamar University, Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf (SWCID), McDaniel College, National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), and Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University is located in Washington DC. It is unique because it is the world's only Deaf university.
Why are faces important in sign language?
Your eyebrows are where sentence types are shown, and around your mouth is where adjectives and adverbs are shown, in addition to head movements. The face is where 70% of grammatical information in ASL is found.
OHCODA
Only Hearing Child of Deaf Adults
Referents - Present and Not Present
Present: To refer to something in a space that is present (a person or object that can be seen), point directly in that area. Your eye gaze should be directed towards that area too. Not present: To refer to something or someone that is not present or that can't be seen, point in a more downward direction. Eye gaze should be directed towards that same area. When you sign something about the object/person, refer to it/them by pointing to the same area, and then continue talking about that object/person.
SODA
Sibling(s) of Deaf Adult(s)
Where to look when signing?
The area between the signer's face and upper chest
Signing Space
The signing space is usually as tall as your waist to the top of your head, as wide as your outstretched elbows from right elbow to your left elbow, and from your chest outwards as far as your arms and hands can comfortably stretch out to
Conjunctions - And & then
Three that can be used for "and" in ASL. 1) Shoulder Shifting: Sign the first concept shifting your shoulders to the left, then shift your shoulders slightly to the right and sign the second concept. 2) PLUS: Use your pointing fingers as a cross to make a plus sign. Sign a concept, then sign PLUS, then sign the next concept. [Tip: You can shift your shoulders shift too, if wanted] 3) Listing: Use your spread base hand, starting at the thumb to discuss the first concept, then your pointing hand for the second concept, and then your middle finger for the third concept and so on. What about "then"? The sign for "then" is signed as FINISH in ASL.
Circle and Circle
To draw, pinch together your thumb and pointing finger to draw a circle in the air. To describe shapes, hold your base pointer finger on the top of the shape itself, then use your dominant hand pointer finger to trace the shape, a circle in this case.
Articles
Use your pointer finger and point to the place
Fingerspelling tips
1. Keep your elbow and arm in a relaxed position near your body 2. Fingerspell in the same spot 3. Relax your hands as you spell 4. Avoid rocking or bouncing your hand too much 5. Make sure your palm is facing outward 6. If there are 2 words to spell, pause and then spell the next one
Attention Getting
1. Tap their shoulder twice with your finger tips 2. wave your hand 3. Stomp the floor 4. Flash the lights 5. Tap the table
Compound Signs
1. The signs for MOTHER and FATHER are combined to create the sign for PARENTS. 2. The signs for SISTER and BROTHER are combined to create the sign for SIBLINGS. 3. The signs for BOY and BABY are combined to create the sign for SON. 4. The signs for WOMAN and MARRY are combined to create the sign for WIFE.
Names with Prefixes
Don't sign the period. 1) Pause slightly after signing 'St', and at the same time, 2) Raise your eyebrows, and 3) Move your fingerspelling hand slightly outwards, then 4) Fingerspell the rest of the word
Ordinal Numbers
First, if you'd like to communicate the sequence of who/what will go first, second, and third, and they're in different places or locations. You'd look at the location, move your hand to that location, signing FIRST, then twist the hand. For SECOND, move your eyes and hand to the next location, signing 'second', then twist the hand again, and so on. Second, if there's a hallway, with doors lining up on the left side of the hall, and you want to identify the door for your friend. You'd start by exhibiting a puzzled facial expression, squint your eyes as if you're 'searching', twisting the sign for FIRST softly/slightly, doing the same for the SECOND a bit further down the hall, then again for the THIRD door, then the FOURTH door - which happens to be the correct one, would be signed with eyes open, head and eyebrows raised a bit, and the sign for the FOURTH door would be repeated for emphasis, to let your friend know that the fourth door is the correct one. Third, if it's a building or house with multiple floors... you'd sign vertically, where the sign for FIRST would be at the ground level, then move your hand up a bit, to sign SECOND, then a bit further up to sign THIRD. If you'd like to emphasize which floor, you'd apply the same rules earlier, where you'd squint for the FIRST, SECOND, and then open your eyes and repeat the twist for the floor you want to identify for your friend.
KODA
Kid(s) of Deaf Adults
Dark, Light, and Bright Colors
The lighter the color is, the wider your eyes are. For darker colors, your eyes squint more. For very bright colors, pop your eyes open while signing the color with one movement.
Handshapes
There are 90 different handshapes in ASL
Deaf Animals
There are deaf dogs, deaf cats, even deaf ferrets. Some animals might become deaf due to an illness or an accident. Others are born deaf, having the deaf gene in their lineage. Animals born deaf tend to have mostly white fur and blue eyes.
Roman Numerals
There are two different ways to sign hundreds. 1) Formal: Sign 100 as "1C" and 200 as "2C", and so on. 2) Casual: Bend the number handshapes. For one hundred, the one would be bent twice. For two hundred, the two would be bent twice, and so on. The ASL sign for one thousand is 1M. The ASL sign for M is connected to Roman numeral M, which means "thousand".