Fingerspelling
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In American Sign Language, each letter of the alphabet is represented by a sign made with your hand. There are 26 signs in all. When used together to make words, we call this fingerspelling, or using the manual alphabet.
There are thousands of signs in American Sign Language; however, there is not a sign for every single word. This is where fingerspelling comes in handy. Names of people and places are often fingerspelled. Titles of books or movies or other works will also be fingerspelled. Many brand names of items do not have a sign, so they will be fingerspelled, as well. For the most part, proper nouns that do not have a sign (or one is not known) will be fingerspelled.
There are many other times when fingerspelling is helpful. For beginners and experienced signers alike, it would be hard to know every single sign. Fingerspelling is a very useful tool to fill in where we don’t know the sign for something. Fingerspelling is also used to be specific about something. For example, there is the sign for “bear”, but if you are talking of a specific bear, say grizzly, polar, or koala, you would want to clarify that with fingerspelling. At times, fingerspelling is also used for emphasis. This is to help get a point across or to make sure there is clarity. Fingerspelling can be used at any time, as the signer wishes.
Fingerspelling Tips
When fingerspelling a word, mouth the word as you spell, not the individual letters.
Hold your hand at about shoulder height. This will allow the fingerspelled word to be viewed near the face as the word is mouthed.
Try to keep your hand relatively still. Bouncing or pushing the letters out to the front makes it hard to read the fingerspelled word.
Double letters can be shown by making a little bounce in between each letter, or by making the letters next to each other.
Strive for clarity rather than speed. It will be appreciated by all.
There are thousands of signs in American Sign Language; however, there is not a sign for every single word. This is where fingerspelling comes in handy. Names of people and places are often fingerspelled. Titles of books or movies or other works will also be fingerspelled. Many brand names of items do not have a sign, so they will be fingerspelled, as well. For the most part, proper nouns that do not have a sign (or one is not known) will be fingerspelled.
There are many other times when fingerspelling is helpful. For beginners and experienced signers alike, it would be hard to know every single sign. Fingerspelling is a very useful tool to fill in where we don’t know the sign for something. Fingerspelling is also used to be specific about something. For example, there is the sign for “bear”, but if you are talking of a specific bear, say grizzly, polar, or koala, you would want to clarify that with fingerspelling. At times, fingerspelling is also used for emphasis. This is to help get a point across or to make sure there is clarity. Fingerspelling can be used at any time, as the signer wishes.
Fingerspelling Tips
When fingerspelling a word, mouth the word as you spell, not the individual letters.
Hold your hand at about shoulder height. This will allow the fingerspelled word to be viewed near the face as the word is mouthed.
Try to keep your hand relatively still. Bouncing or pushing the letters out to the front makes it hard to read the fingerspelled word.
Double letters can be shown by making a little bounce in between each letter, or by making the letters next to each other.
Strive for clarity rather than speed. It will be appreciated by all.
Every effort will be made to research and include generally accepted signs. In some cases, signs may have been set up to be used in the classroom. These signs are suggestions and represent the closest approximation of the conceptually accurate sign. They are in no way meant to be finite signs, as there are many ways to sign many words and concepts. In all situations, however, it is highly recommended to finger spell the word right before or just after a sign is shown, just to cut down on confusion.