In this unit, you will learn American Sign Language pronouns and how to index.
Vocabulary
Conversation
B: HOW-many BROTHER SISTER YOU HOW-many?
"How many siblings do you have?"
A: I HAVE 2 BROTHER 2 SISTER. FIVE-list(on non-dominant hand), FIRST-of-five-list ME.
"I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I am the oldest child."
B: WOW!
"Wow!"
A: YOU MARRIED YOU?
"Are you married?"
B: NO. YOU MARRIED YOU?
"No. Are you married?"
A: YES, I MARRIED
"Yes, I'm married."
B: NICE. YOU HAVE CHILDREN?
"That's nice. Do you have any children?"
A: YES, I HAVE TWO GIRLS. TWO-list(on non-dominant hand), FIRST-of-two-list fs-MARISSA, SECOND-of-two-list fs-CHELSEA. FIRST-of-two-list PLAY BASEBALL, SECOND-two-list PLAY VOLLEYBALL.
"Yes, I have 2 girls, Marissa and Chelsea. Marissa plays baseball and Chelsea plays volleyball."
HOW-many BROTHER SISTER YOU HOW-many?
"How many siblings do you have?"
This is a wh-word question and you will notice as you learn American Sign Language that this is how this sentence is almost always signed.
I HAVE 2 BROTHER 2 SISTER. FIVE-list(on non-dominant hand), FIRST-of-five-list ME.
"I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I am the oldest child."
When discussing siblings, you can index them on your non-dominant hand. You will learn American Sign Language pronouns and indexing later in this unit. This is the only way you can really show what your "rank" is among your siblings. Your thumb represents the oldest and your pinkie finger represents the youngest.
YES, I HAVE TWO GIRLS. TWO-list(on non-dominant hand), FIRST-of-two-list fs-MARISSA, SECOND-of-two-list fs-CHELSEA. FIRST-of-two-list PLAY BASEBALL, SECOND-two-list PLAY VOLLEYBALL.
"Yes, I have 2 girls, Marissa and Chelsea. Marissa plays baseball and Chelsea plays volleyball."
Indexing on your non-dominant hand is also used to discuss children. Once you index them on one of the fingers on your non-dominant hand, you can keep referring to that finger to discuss that child.
Pronouns and Indexing
Indexing is when you set up a point to refer to a person or object that is or is not present in the signing area. Keep in mind as you learn American Sign Language that indexing is also known as referencing or creating referents.
If the person or object is present, you can just point at him, her, or it to mean "HE/HIM," "SHE/HER," or "IT."
If the person or object is not present, you would first need to identify the person or object. Then, you can "index" the person or object to a point in space. Once you have set up this referent, you can refer back to that same point every time you want to talk about that person or object.
To refer to referents, you would use these types of signs:
Personal Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Directional Verbs
For example, if you are talking about Bill and Suzy, you would sign Bill's name and point to your left. Then, you would sign Suzy's name and point to your right. When continuing your dialogue about Bill and Suzy, you would point to your left and right whenever you refer to them (you would no longer need to spell out their names).
Personal Pronouns
I'm sure it's obvious as you learn American Sign Language that personal pronouns are signed by pointing with your index finger toward a person, object, or referent. A referent is used when a person or object is not present.
Here are the signs used for personal pronouns:
"me" = point at yourself, touching your chest
"you" = point at the person you are talking to
"he/she/it" = point to the person or object you are talking about (or to the spot you are using to reference the person or object)
"those/they/them" = point to the group or point and sweep your hand to the side toward the people you are referencing (to the right or left)
"this" = point to a certain object or to the spot you are referencing
"these" = point slightly downward and sweep your hand toward the objects you are referencing (to the right or left)
"we/us" = use index finger starting on your chest near the shoulder of your dominant hand and moving it near the shoulder of your non-dominant hand
"all of you" = point and sweep your hand in front of you toward the people you are referencing
"two of you" = k-handshape, palm up, pointing to the "you" person (in front of you) and the other person you are referencing with a side-to-side shaking movement
"two of them" = k-handshape, palm up, pointing to the two people you are referencing with a sideways shake
"two of us" = k-handshape, pointing to yourself with your middle finger and pointing to the "you" person (in front of you) with your index finger with a back-and-forth shaking movement
"three of you" = 3-handshape, palm up, making a horizontal circle pointing to the "you" person (in front of you) and the other two people you are referencing
"three of them" = 3-handshape, palm up, making a horizontal circle pointing to the three people you are referencing
"three of us" = 3-handshape, palm up, making a horizontal circle close to your body, pointing at yourself and the two other people you are referencing
You can see some examples of personal pronouns in the vocabulary section of this unit. Make sure you learn American Sign Language pronoun signs before moving on to the next unit.
Possessive Pronouns
In ASL, personal pronouns can indicate possession simply by changing your handshape from an index finger to a flat hand. The palm of your flat hand would be pointing toward the person or object.
For example, to sign "YOUR," you would sign "YOU" with a flat hand, fingertips up, and your palm facing toward the person.
Here are the basic possession signs:
"my/mine" = flat hand on your chest
"your/yours" = flat hand toward the person (in front of you)
"his/hers/its" = flat hand toward the person or object
"our/ours" = flat hand starting on your chest near the shoulder of dominant hand (palm facing in) and moving in a half-circle to near the shoulder of your non-dominant hand (palm facing in)
"theirs" = flat hand making a sweeping motion toward the people you are referring to
You can see some examples of possessive pronouns in the vocabulary section of this unit.
Numbers 21-30
Watch the video clip below. I am going to model the numbers 21-30. Practice signing each number.
Turn to page 10 in your workbook. In the video below, I am going to sign 10 phrases. Write down the numbers that I signed in each phrase. The first one has been done for you.
When you're finished, check your answers in the back of the workbook. Go back and review the questions you missed to make sure you learn American Sign Language numbers 1-10.
Comprehension 7.2
Turn to page 11 in your workbook. This is the video I used in the Number Practice above. In the video below, I am going to sign 10 phrases. The phrases each contain 2 numbers and 2 words. Write down the words that I signed in each phrase. The first one has been done for you.
You should have been to at least one Deaf event by now. I truly hope you enjoyed your experience. Don't get too overwhelmed. Your language skills will build quicker than you think as you learn American Sign Language--you just have to practice with real people. I want you to commit to going to another Deaf even in the next week. If you haven't been to one already, you now need to plan to go to two. Visit http://www.ohsoez.com to find a Deaf event in your area.
End of Unit 7
You're doing great! Move on to the next unit to learn American Sign Language directional verbs.
