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Parts


The Alphabet
The Numbers

WORDS
A lot
About
Above
Act
Advice
Afternoon
Alligator
All day
All night
All right
Alone
Ambulance
America USA
And
Angry
Animal
Any
Anything
Apple
Appointment
Area
Arrive
Ask
Aunt
Baby
Back
Bad
Beautiful
Bedroom
Before
Best Friend
Bird
Black
Book
Bored
Boy
Bread
Breakfast
Bring
Brother
Bus
Business
But
Career
Carry
Cat
Chair
Cheese
Chicken
Can
Can't
Car
Cheerleader
Coffee
Cold
College
Color
Corn
Cousin
Credit card
Crocodile
Dairy
Damage
Daughter
Deaf
Decide
Deductible
Deer
Different
Dinner
Do
Doctor
Dog
Donkey
Dont know
Don't like
Don't want
Drive
Early
Eat
Electric
Elephant
Every-day
Excited
Expert
Explain
Fall
Family
Farm
Farmer
Father
Feed
Feel
Few
Find
Fine
Fingerspell
Finish
First
Fix
Flower
Follow
Food
For
Forget
Friend
From
Fun
Furniture
Future
Gallaudett
Garage
Garbage
Garden
Gas
Get
Get_up
Girl
Go there
Goat
Goldfish
Gone
Good
Grandfather
Grandmother
Grass
Great
Group
Grow
Hamburger
Happen
Happy
Have
Headache
Health
Healthy
Hearing
Hello
Help
Home
Homework
Hook up
Horse
Hospital
House
How
Hungry
Husband
I love you
If
Important
In
Indian
Information
Insurance
Interesting
Kind
Know
Last
Late
Later
Laundry
Learn
Lettuce
Library
Like
Lion
Live
Love
Lunch
Many
Marry
Math
Maybe
Me
Meat
Medical
Medicine
Meet
Milk
Mixture
Month
Monthly
Moose
Morning
Mother
Move
My
Myself
Name
Near
Need
Next
New York
Nice
Night
No
None
Noon
Nose
Note
Not yet
Now
Nurse
Off
Office
Okay
On
One hundred
Orange
Orange juice
Order
Out
Pain
Paint
Paper
Park
Past
Pay
Peach
Pencil
Picnic
Pig
Pizza
Place
Plant
Play
Please
Potato
Practice
President
Problem
Question
Rain
Read
Recently
Recommend
Remember
Responsible
Restaurant
Right
Rose
Room
Run
Sad
Salad
Same
Sandwich
Say
School
Science
Scratch
Second
See
Seed
Sell
Sheep
Shopping
Shot
Show you
Sick
Sign language
Sister
Sit
Snow
Son
Spots
Spring
Stand
Store
Story
Stubborn
Student
Study
Supplies
Sure
Surgery
Sympathy
Talk
Teach
Teacher
Team
Telephone
Tell
Thank you
That
Thin
Think
Things
This
Tiger
Time
Tired
To
Today
Tomato
Tomorrow
Touch
Travel
Tree
Truck
Try
Two-of-you
Uncle
Understand
University
Upset
Vacancy
Vegetable
Veterinarian
Visit
Wait
Waitress
Walk
Want
Wash
Washing manchine
Week
Wife
With
Without
What
When
Where
Why
Work
Worry
Wow
Write
Wrong
Year
Yes
Yesterday
You
Your



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dDeaf World

Dedicated to teaching the American Sign Language.
Click a word in menu and a movie shows how to "sign" that word.
This site also includes practice tutorials to test your skills
in learning Sign Language for the deaf.

Sponsored by Internet Stained Glass Supply


TO USE THIS PAGE (ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WORDS):

Choose selected words at the left.

You can also learn some of the numbers and the alphabet by clicking on the appropriate link.

To practice or test yourself on what you have learned, click on "Practice" at the left.


SIGNING INFORMATION

Sign Area    Clear Signs    ASL syntax    This page    ASL origin

FACIAL EXPRESSION:
In signing, facial expression is very important in conveying the meaning of the communication. When signing the word "SAD" one should have a sad expression. When signing the word "HAPPY" there should be a smile to help deliver the meaning. The face, along with body language, should help give the meaning whenever possible.

SIGNING AREA:
Most signs are given in front of the chest and just below the face, so that the reader can see your facial expressions while watching your signs. Try to keep the hands centered on the chest and just below the face for most general signs except when a particular sign calls for movements to other areas.
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CLEAR SIGNING
Some people have the urge to move their hands in a down and up motion for each letter or word. That makes reading much harder. Generally, keep the hands still from such movements. Signs need not be overly large.
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ASL SYNTAX
Strict ASL requires that the time element of a sentence, if there is one, comes first followed by the topic, then the verb etc.. As an example: in speaking one might say, "I SAW A BEAUTIFUL RED CAR YESTERDAY." If that word order were used while signing, people would not know what you are signing about until the end of the sentence.

Strict ASL uses French syntax which gives the time element, then the topic up front. This same sentence in sign language would be: "YESTERDAY CAR BEAUTIFUL RED SAW I."

Although this page uses ASL syntax most of the time and in learning ASL you need to be aware of the correct word order, you need not concern yourself too much by trying to stick strictly to that word order. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people are flexible enough to understand ASL using English syntax.
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UNDERSTANDING THIS PAGE:
In this program, italic words or letters are used to describe the shape of your hand to use while making each sign. As an example "using your right p hand" means to use your right hand forming the shape of the letter "p" from the signing alphabet while making this sign. "Using your right bent hand" means to use your right hand in a bent shape while making this sign.
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ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was a Philadelphia born theology student of French ancestry who became interested in helping deaf people of the United States. He went to France where a sign language was already established. After learning that language, he and a French colleague developed the American Sign Language patterned after the French version.

For this reason ASL (American Sign Language) uses French syntax. In ASL the time element, if there is one, comes first followed by the topic, then the verb etc..

After learning ASL you can most likely communicate easily with deaf French people, with only one difficulty: when letters are used in a sign, the French people will use the first letter from the French word while English speaking people will use the first letter from the English word. As an example the ASL sign for "people" uses both hands shaped like the sign letter "p," whereas the French will use both hands shaped like the sign letter "g" in the same manner, because the French word for people is "gens."

Now the good news: many words that don't require a letter in their signing; such as "good," "thank-you," "have," "know" etc.; are the same in French and American sign languages. You can speak French and didn't know it!
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