In Deaf culture and sign language, a sign name (or a name sign) is a special sign that is used to uniquely identify a person, just like a name. Until a person receives a sign name, the person’s name is usually fingerspelled.

Among ASL signers, finger spelling is mainly used for names of people, places, and specific brand names. ASL makes use of space in front of a signer’s body to convey distance, express time concepts, and contrast two people, places, things, or ideas.

DO’S:

1. Tap gently on the shoulder to get attention.
2. If beyond the reach to tap, wave in the air until eye contact is established.
3. Switch lights on and off to get attention.
4. Establish a comfortable distance between you and the person involved in communication.
5. Establish eye contact before beginning communication.

To perform the sign “hello” in American Sign Language (ASL), simply place the hand you are writing with on your forehead close to your ear and move it outwards and away from your body. Don’t forget to smile!

The letter M is signed by holding up your dominant hand, palm facing out, with all your fingers curled into your palm. Then tuck your thumb between your ring and pinkie fingers. This sign looks like the small letter ‘m’, with the 3 fingers’ bumps reminding us of the letter written in cursive.

I use a fluttering middle finger for numbers 23 and 25. I use a double 2 for number 22. I use an L-1 for 21. I use a G > Closed-G for 20 (like the sign for bird, except done in a “neutral/fingerspelling” location).

In addition, ASL does not use the English words “and,” “or,” “the,” “of,” and “is” to convey information. Instead, these concepts are expressed through facial expressions, role shifting, and pointing.

To sign “no,” extend your thumb, index and middle fingers, then quickly snap them together.

No in Sign Language

1. Bring one hand up about shoulder height.
2. Tap the fingertips of the pointer and middle finger to the thumb.
3. You can shake your head no as you do this sign.
4. Tip: you can use body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions to stress how much you mean no.

To sign quiet, bring your index finger to your lips (that is, the universal shhh sign).

To make the sign for hungry, take your hand and make it into a ‘C’ shape with your palm facing the center of your body. Start with your ‘C’ hand around your neck and move it down towards your stomach. The sign is a lot like food going down into your stomach.

1. The chin flick. Brushing the back of your hand underneath your chin in a flicking motion means “get lost” in Belgium, northern Italy, and Tunisia. In France, this gesture is known as la barbe (”the beard”) and is the hand-sign equivalent of macho grandstanding.

Just like ASL, British Sign Language, or BSL, is a visual language used by the Deaf community. As with ASL, BSL also has regional dialects and variations, but unlike ASL, BSL uses two-handed fingerspelling. BSL is considered to be a dialect of BANZSL, or British, Australian, and New Zealand Sign Language.

I don’t think one is intrinsically easier to learn than the other, but there are more resources out there for ASL learners than for BSL learners so ASL is probably easier to learn from a practical perspective (assuming we are comparing ‘learning ASL in an ASL-speaking country’ with ‘learning BSL in a BSL-speaking …