Parts of Signs and HMH's

From My LEGO Office

 

 



The following terms will be used and referred throughout this year.

·         GLOSSING is a labeling system for ASL which does not have a written counterpart.  Using the equivalent terms from the English language, glossed in uppercase letters, helps you master ASL.

GLOSS	Equivalent English Terms
HOUSE	house, hut, cabin, mansion, dwelling
MAN	man, men, male, masculine
FIX	fix, repair, adjust, rebuild, restore, tune up
EAT	devour, dine, feast upon, nibble, chow down
GO	approach, hit the road, get off
ANIMAL	beast, barbarian, brute, mammal

 

 

 

·         HANDSHAPE (HS) refers to the specific hand configuration that exists with definable and unique thumb/finger positions.

 

HS: B	Fingers are adducted, and the thumb is abducted.
HS: A	Fingers are flexed, and the thumb is adducted.
HS: S	Fingers are flexed, and the thumb is flexed over the fingers.
HS: C	Fingers and thumb are abducted and semi-flexed.
HS: O	Fingers are bended flatly, and the thumb is extended with its palm contacting the fingers.
HS: 1	The index finger is extended, the middle, ring and pinky are flexed, and the thumb is flexed over the middle finger.
HS: 5	Thumb and fingers are abducted.

 

 

·         PALM ORIENTATION (PO) shows the specific palm position of the hand in a sign.

 

 

PALM IN
PALM OUT
PALM UP
PALM DOWN
PALM SIDEWAYS

 

 

·         START/END LOCATIONS (LOC)            are viewed as a lens through which signs are seen starting and ending.  Each sign, through its different locations, generates a phenomenological different meaning.

 

·         One-Hand Sign

 

SIGN	START/END
GOOD	palm in/palm in chin contact/chin proximity
BAD	palm in/ palm down chin contact/chin proximity
THANK-YOU	palm in/ palm up chin contact/chin proximity

 

 

·         Two-Hand Sign

 

SIGN	START/END
NAME (verb)	HS: 1 (H), 1 (H) PO: sideways, in and move downward LOC: chest proximity, neck proximity à chest proximity, chest proximity
SHORT	HS: 1 (H),1 (H) PO: sideways, in and move forward to sideways chest proximity, chest proximity à chest distance
SIT	HS: 1 (H),1 (H) PO: down, down and move downward LOC: chest proximity, neck proximity à chest proximity
BLOCK (verb)	HS: 1 (H), 1 (H) PO: Sideways, sideways move forward to contact LOC: chest proximity, chest proximity à chest distance, chest distance
LAY-THE-EGG	HS: 1 (H), 1 (H) PO: in, in and both move downward LOC: chest proximity, chest proximity à waist proximity, waist proximity
FUN	HS: 1 (H), 1 (H) PO: down, in and move downward to contact with palm down LOC: chest proximity, nose contact à chest proximity, chest proximity

 

·         NON-MANUAL EXPRESSIONS ((NM) is used as an infix (see figures below) to modify the sign.

·         RED/BRIGHT-RED

RED   HS: 1 à 1 (X) PO: in   LOC: chin contact à chin proximal NM: n/a

BRIGHT-RED   HS: 1 à 1 (X) PO: in   LOC: chin contact à chin distance NM: raised eyebrows

·         TIRED/VERY-TIRED

TIRED   HS: B (palm in) à B (palm up) PO: in à up   LOC: shoulder contact à shoulder      contact NM: n/a

VERY-TIRED   HS: B à B   PO: in  à up LOC: shoulder contact à shoulder proximity NM: closed eyes

·         WHAT/WHAT?

WHAT   HS: 5,1 à 5,1 PO: in à in   LOC: chest proximity, neck proximity à chest proximity, stomach proximity NM: n/a

WHAT?   HS: 5,1 à 5,1   PO: in à in LOC: chest proximity, neck proximity à chest proximity, stomach proximity NM: lowered eyebrows

 

·         MODIFIER MOVEMENT (MV) is an infix that emphasizes an adverb movement to modify a sign and it is generally embedded in the sign.

 

·         RICH/VERY-RICH

RICH   HS: B, O à B, C PO: up, sideways à up, down   LOC:chest proximity, chest proximity à chest proximity, neck proximity NM: n/a

VERY-RICH   HS: B, O à B, C   PO: up, sideways à up, down   LOC: chest proximity, chest proximity à chest proximity, forehead proximity NM: upward eye-gazing

 

·         BAD/VERY-BAD

BAD   HS: B (palm in) à B (palm down) PO: in à down   LOC: chin contact à chin proximity NM: n/a

VERY-BAD   HS: B (palm in) à B (palm down) PO: in à down   LOC: chin contact à chest proximity NM: lowered eyebrows

 

·         WALK/WALK-FAST

WALK   HS: B,B à B,B PO: down, down à down, down   LOC: chest proximity à chest proximity NM: n/a   MV: alternatively

WALK-FAST   HS: B,B à B,B PO: down, down à down, down   LOC: chest proximity à chest proximity NM: raised eyebrows   MV: alternatively and rapidly

 

·         WALK/WALK-SLOWLY

WALK     HS: B,B à B,B PO: down, down à down, down LOC: chest proximity à chest proximity NM: n/a MV: alternative

WALK-SLOWLY     HS: B,B à B,B PO: down, down à down, down LOC: chest proximity à chest proximity NM: half-mast eyes MV: alternatively and slowly

 

·         WALK/WALK-AIMLESSLY

WALK     HS: B,B à B,B PO: down, down à down, down LOC: chest proximity à chest proximity NM: n/a MV: alternative

WALK-AIMLESSLY     HS: B,B à B,B PO: down, down à down, down LOC: chest proximity à chest proximity NM: wandering eyes   MV: alternatively and in circle

Reference:

Valli, C., et al. 2005. Linguistics of American Sign Language: An Introduction. Washington, D.C.: Clerc Books