ASL sign for 'deaf'?

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JennyB

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Hi everyone,

I have a question about the ASL sign for 'deaf'.

Is there a difference between siging it it starting with the 'd' hand shape at your mouth and bringing it up to your ear, or starting with the 'd' hand shape at your ear and bringing it down to your mouth?

I see it signed both ways and just wondering what the difference is, if there is a difference.

Thanks!
 
JennyB said:
Hi everyone,

I have a question about the ASL sign for 'deaf'.

Is there a difference between siging it it starting with the 'd' hand shape at your mouth and bringing it up to your ear, or starting with the 'd' hand shape at your ear and bringing it down to your mouth?

I see it signed both ways and just wondering what the difference is, if there is a difference.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Actually, the ASL sign is done with the index finger, rather than the "d". The "d" is the initialized English sign.

The siogn starts at the ear and goes to the mouth. If one does it the other way, it could easily be mistaken for the sign for "home".

I have also seen deaf signed by pointing to the ear, and then signing "closed", though I haven't seen it used often.

Hope this helps!
 
jillio said:
Actually, the ASL sign is done with the index finger, rather than the "d". The "d" is the initialized English sign.

The siogn starts at the ear and goes to the mouth. If one does it the other way, it could easily be mistaken for the sign for "home".

I have also seen deaf signed by pointing to the ear, and then signing "closed", though I haven't seen it used often.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Actually I (and everyone I know where I live in Canada) start at the mouth , and move to the ear the way it is shown on ASL Browser & ASL pro websites. I see people in parts of the USA doing it the other way ... starting at the ear, moving to the mouth *shrug* just another quirk of the language!
 
I think it matters not a whit where one starts but the "d" is a no no! Use the index finger, like for the numeral one.
 
Anij said:
Actually I (and everyone I know where I live in Canada) start at the mouth , and move to the ear the way it is shown on ASL Browser & ASL pro websites. I see people in parts of the USA doing it the other way ... starting at the ear, moving to the mouth *shrug* just another quirk of the language!
Click to expand...

Yep, more regionalisms, LOL. I think, either way, it would be udnerstood by any ASL user. That's the important thing.
 
Thanks Jillio and Tousi. I think I've been signing it with a d-hand forever. Not even my know-it-all sis ever corrected me, and she comes down on me like a mallet for the slightest error.

Somewhere in my muddled mind, I had the (obviously mistakened) notion that the tip if the d-hand index going to the ear meant "deaf."

In the future I'll clamp my thumb over the middle finger. I keep saying I learn so very much here.
 
Since, we are talking about signs here, I hope Jenny don't mind me asking a sign related q in her thread.. What is the sign for "chaplain"? Chaplain is someone serves people who not from a specific church.
 
Wouldn't it be the same as the general sign for minister or preacher? That's signed with the right F-hand chest high, palm out (or I've seen it both F-hands) and then the open hands about waist-high facing each other about a foot apart?
 
Chase said:
Wouldn't it be the same as the general sign for minister or preacher? That's signed with the right F-hand chest high, palm out (or I've seen it both F-hands) and then the open hands about waist-high facing each other about a foot apart?
Click to expand...

I would use the same sign.
 
Hmmm ... interesting Question (re chaplain) since I'm a theology student and spend a TON of time figuring stuff like this out lol !!

Chaplains are not primarily preachers, so I personally wouldn't use that sign ... they're carers - they function almost as a Deaconess ...

It's important (at least to me) that the ASL be descriptively accurate

If they are ordained, I'd likely sign it as "hospital+priest" or "PC(personal care) +Priest" - using the Priest sign that shows a clerical collar

If they aren't ordained, I'd probably sign it as a initialized from of "Deaconess"/Deacon which would be a "C" handshape tracing a cross over the non-dominant shoulder

What do you think
 
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Chase said:
Wouldn't it be the same as the general sign for minister or preacher? That's signed with the right F-hand chest high, palm out (or I've seen it both F-hands) and then the open hands about waist-high facing each other about a foot apart?
Click to expand...


I had the same idea as Chase.

Anij said:
Hmmm ... interesting Question (re chaplain) since I'm a theology student and spend a TON of time figuring stuff like this out lol !!

Chaplains are not primarily preachers, so I personally wouldn't use that sign ... they're carers - they function almost as a Deaconess ...

It's important (at least to me) that the ASL be descriptively accurate

If they are ordained, I'd likely sign it as "hospital+priest" or "PC(personal care) +Priest" - using the Priest sign that shows a clerical collar

If they aren't ordained, I'd probably sign it as a initialized from of "Deaconess"/Deacon which would be a "C" handshape tracing a cross over the non-dominant shoulder

What do you think
Click to expand...

Yes, that's a good one since, you established the meaning of chaplain a little bit better and with conceptual accuracy as well. I like the other sign as well "C" handshape tracing a cross over the non-dominant shoulder to clarify the chaplain is not ordained. Cool!
 
I learned and still use PSE... Although I'm trying to get more ASL in my bloodstream...

But as well, I've always been under the notion of the mouth-to-ear sign with index finger. I have seen people use the ear-to-mouth and the ear-close sign... So really, I don't know which one is the most preferred since I didn't really enter the Deaf world until 2006 although I have been Deaf since I was 3 years old...
 
The sign starts at the mouth and moves to the ear. If one confuses that for home then you are not signing deaf right. Use your index finger not a closed palm / hand and no one will confuse deaf for home.
 
Um... the sign for "deaf" I knew was the sign that is similar to the signs for "sister/brother/sibling". Has this changed?
 
JennyB said:
Hi everyone,

I have a question about the ASL sign for 'deaf'.

Is there a difference between siging it it starting with the 'd' hand shape at your mouth and bringing it up to your ear, or starting with the 'd' hand shape at your ear and bringing it down to your mouth?

I see it signed both ways and just wondering what the difference is, if there is a difference.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
It's the index finger handshape, not a "D". However, some people use a "loose" index finger, not real defined, in a casual setting.

I've seen and used the motion from mouth side to ear, and vice versa, for economy of movement. For example if signing "BOY DEAF" it's more fluid to sign "DEAF" from ear to mouth. Signing "GIRL DEAF" is more fluid from mouth to ear.

Sign formation is influenced by its position within the whole context of the "sentence", unless you're just practicing signs from a list or dictionary.
 
Brian said:
Um... the sign for "deaf" I knew was the sign that is similar to the signs for "sister/brother/sibling". Has this changed?
Click to expand...
Do you mean the sign that uses an index finger at the mouth side, then both hands, "B" shape, palms down, make a "CLOSED" sign? I think that is an older version but maybe it's still popular by region.
 
jillio said:
I would use the same sign.
Click to expand...
Same here.

"PASTOR", "CHAPLAIN", "PREACHER"

If it needs more specific identification, modifiers like "CHURCH" (for someone who is in a church pastor position), or "MILITARY" (for a military chaplain), or "TRAVELING" (for an itinerant preacher) or "HOSPITAL" (for a hospital chaplain).
 
Anij said:
Hmmm ... interesting Question (re chaplain) since I'm a theology student and spend a TON of time figuring stuff like this out lol !!

Chaplains are not primarily preachers, so I personally wouldn't use that sign ... they're carers - they function almost as a Deaconess ...
Click to expand...
It depends on the denomination and position.

I would hardly call a police or military chaplain a "deaconess". For one thing, they aren't all female, and for another thing, police, military, and hospital chaplains are supposed to be ordained, not laymen. The police and hospital chaplains usually perform in the role of counselor and comforter but they are also preachers. Military chaplains do everything that their civilian equivalents do.


It's important (at least to me) that the ASL be descriptively accurate

If they are ordained, I'd likely sign it as "hospital+priest" or "PC(personal care) +Priest" - using the Priest sign that shows a clerical collar
Click to expand...
If the chaplain is a priest, then "PRIEST" is an accurate sign to use. If the chaplain is a Protestant or Jew or any religion that doesn't use "priests" then the "PRIEST" sign would not be accurate.

I've never seen "PC" used except for a Windows computer. :)


If they aren't ordained, I'd probably sign it as a initialized from of "Deaconess"/Deacon which would be a "C" handshape tracing a cross over the non-dominant shoulder
Click to expand...
:dunno: I've never seen anyone use that sign.

Usually a "C-CROSS" on the arm refers to a medical clinic. It's an initialized version of "HOSPITAL".


What do you think
Click to expand...
See above. :)
 
Reba said:
Do you mean the sign that uses an index finger at the mouth side, then both hands, "B" shape, palms down, make a "CLOSED" sign? I think that is an older version but maybe it's still popular by region.
Click to expand...

I've seen the EAR CLOSED sign used for "deaf" but infrequently, and only by older deaf, or people who have learned sign from a dictionary.:giggle:
 
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