1. Unit 1
“As long as we have Deaf
people, we will have Sign
Language.”
George W. Verditz (NAD President, 1904 - 1910)
ASL2140

2. Alphabet
*Articulation is important
*Proper parameters must be followed
*Handshapes
Fist letters: A E I O S T M N
Up-letters: B C D F K L R U V W X
Down-letters: P Q Y
Moving Letters: ‘Z ‘J’ ‘G’ ‘H’

3. Numbers 1 - 20
The Signing Naturally DVD is incorrect when
describing numbers 1 – 5 (The way the video
does it demonstrates possession, primarily
family members and objects)
Variations of 16-19:
• Old signs adaptation
• Second variation

4. Deixis- to point (Ancient Greek)
• When the referent is physically present, pronouns
involve simply pointing at the referent
• If the referent is not physically present, the
speaker identifies the referent and then points to a
location in the sign space near their body and
maintains this space as a set pronoun which can be
repeatedly referenced
• In ASL, the use of deixis contrasts with American
Hearing culture, where in general, it is considered
rude to ‘point’

5. Personal Pronouns (Deixis)
Singular Subjective/Objective
• I
• Me
• You
• It
• She
• Her
• He
• Him

6. Personal Pronouns (Deixis)
Plural Subjective/Objective
Involving people
as a whole:
• We
• Us
• You
• They
• Them
Involving
two people:
• We
• Us
• You
• They
• Them
Involving
three people:
• We
• Us
• You
• They
• Them

7. Possessive Personal Pronouns Deixis
Singular Pronouns:
• My
• Your
• His
• Her
Plural Pronouns:
• Their
• Our (whole)
• Our (two)

8. Introductory Terms
• Hi, Hello, Bye, Farewell
• Name
• Nice
• Meet
• See-you
• Learning
• Please
• Slow
• Fine, okay
• Good
• Alright
• So-so
• Bad
• Thank-you
• Welcome
• Later

9. Wh-words
One-handed sign:
• Who
• Where
• Why
Two-handed signs:
• What
• When
• Which
• How

10. Wh-words: Non-manual behavior
Facial expression:
• Moderately lower eyebrows and lead head
forward (as if you are curious, not angry)
Two ways to demonstrate a question in ASL:
• Briefly hold the last sign, the appropriate
wh-word, at the end of the sentence
• End the sentence with ‘you’

11. Wh-words: Exceptions
There are few exceptions to the wh-signs rule. For instance:
• How are you? (Signed “How-you?”, not “You-how?”)
• How do you feel? (Signed “How you-feel?”, not “you feel-
how?”
• What’s up? (Has its own signed vocabulary, not “Up-
what?”)
Sometimes in English, wh-words are being used as a
statement instead of a question. For instance:
• When you arrive, please have a seat. (‘When’ is not
signed).
• The mall is where teenagers like to hang out. (‘Where’ is
not signed).

12. Colors
Non-initialized signs:
• Black
• White
• Red
• Gray
• Gold
• Pink
• Orange
• Dark
• Light (shade)
Initialized signs:
• Blue
• Green
• Yellow
• Brown
• Purple
• Tan
• Silver

13. Clothing/Hair
• Hat
• Glasses
• Sunglasses
• Shirt
• Jacket, coat
• Pants
• Dress
• Skirt
• Striped-clothing
(horizontal, vertical)
• Shoes
• Mustache
• Beard
• Bald
• Long (female)
• Long (male)
• Short (female)
• Short (male)
• Dye

14. Verbs
• Remember
• Forget
• Sit
• Stand
• Jump
• Dance
• Spin
• Fold
• Throw
• Draw
• Write
• Read
• See-person
• Look-at
• Fingerspell
• Copy-me
• Copy-you
• Tap-shoulder
(get attention)

15. Nouns/Adverbs
• Person
• Boy
• Girl
• Man
• Woman
• Room
• Homework
• Paper
• Chair
• Number
• Letter (symbol)
• Shape
• First name
• Last name
• Again
• Yes
• No
• With (preposition)

16. Commands involving objects in action
• Open
• Close
• Turn-on
• Turn-off
• Door
• Window
• Book
• Lights (illumination)
Adjectives
• Right
• Wrong
• Same
• Different
• Opposite
• Deaf
• Hard of Hearing
• Hearing (culture)