Sign for 'deaf'

Journey

Journey

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I have always signed the word 'deaf' moving from ear to mouth but have also seen many move mouth-to-ear. Both my Canadian SL dictionary and ASL dictionary show it from ear to mouth but some online dictionaries, as well as online videos (ie: youtube) show it the other way around. Do you think (or know if) this is a regional difference or .... ?
 
Journey said:
I have always signed the word 'deaf' moving from ear to mouth but have also seen many move mouth-to-ear. Both my Canadian SL dictionary and ASL dictionary show it from ear to mouth but some online dictionaries, as well as online videos (ie: youtube) show it the other way around. Do you think (or know if) this is a regional difference or .... ?
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Well, if you think about it... where are your hands right now? (not what are you doing with your hands... silly) They are in front of you. Now which is the shorter distance... move your hand to the chin first or move your hand to your ear first? It's the path of least resistance! :)

I honestly thing you will see it both ways. If after a party you told me one person signed it different than everyone else, I doubt I would know which person that was. For me, its pretty conceptual in my head so... Sign it either way you want.
 
Cheetah said:
Well, if you think about it... where are your hands right now? (not what are you doing with your hands... silly) They are in front of you. Now which is the shorter distance... move your hand to the chin first or move your hand to your ear first? It's the path of least resistance! :)
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That's called economy of movement.

Examples of moving in the chin-to-ear direction might be: GIRL DEAF, ME DEAF

Examples of moving in the ear-to-chin direction might be: BOY DEAF, TEACH DEAF
 
Thanks Cheetah and Reba! It is wonderful to be able to wonder about something at any hour of the day and have someone with the knowledge and willingness to jump in and provide an answer. This is the beauty of the internet at work! :D I understand the path of least resistance/economy of movement idea and now it brings me two more questions. First, if both directions are acceptable, I wonder why dictionaries do not illustrate that the movement can go both ways (not sure there is an answer to that question)? And secondly, can you think of any other signs that can vary based on the resistance/economy idea?
 
Journey said:
Thanks Cheetah and Reba! It is wonderful to be able to wonder about something at any hour of the day and have someone with the knowledge and willingness to jump in and provide an answer. This is the beauty of the internet at work! :D I understand the path of least resistance/economy of movement idea and now it brings me two more questions. First, if both directions are acceptable, I wonder why dictionaries do not illustrate that the movement can go both ways (not sure there is an answer to that question)? And secondly, can you think of any other signs that can vary based on the resistance/economy idea?
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adding pages costs money. usually the publisher cannot charge much more for a longer book. So they, again, use an economy of scale when publishing books.
 
These signs are actually printed in a dictionary? I confess I've never seen that (I need to go to the confessions thread !!! :lol: ) Since I'm fluent in ASL I've never thought to look for a dictionary, whether in print or online so this is new to me. :)
 
I always go ear to mouth, but I admit about 1 in 4 times I use f hand instead d hand accident. Oops!
 
The 1 and D aren't that horribly different. I've seen both used.
 
Reba said:
D hand? The sign DEAF is made with the 1 hand.
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:giggle::shock:

Today Sunny brightest day!!! Not!!!!! Lol. About quarter time I use f hand when sign deaf. Look very smart! Like look smart now! Haha. Go bed Sun.
 
Haha Sunny, when you use the f hand does that mean you are not only deaf but 'Fabulously deaf'? lol

Reba, I had to do the sign myself there for a minute to take notice of my handshape when I sign 'deaf' ... I think a loose/relaxed 1 hand is pretty much the same as a loose/relaxed 1 hand when you are signing deaf quickly without thinking about your handshape.
 
Jiro said:
Correct me if I'm wrong - using D-hand for sign DEAF means "deaf and dumb" :(
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Could be -- I've never heard of it that way. But, I think it is more of a sloppiness in keeping the fist open (for the "d") or closed (as in the "1") than anything else. I see people at the deaf club that I've known all my life and are Deaf, and definitely not dumb, and they'll use either one, the d or the 1. I think it is a personal preference in how the hand is used.
 
AlleyCat said:
Could be -- I've never heard of it that way. But, I think it is more of a sloppiness in keeping the fist open (for the "d") or closed (as in the "1") than anything else. I see people at the deaf club that I've known all my life and are Deaf, and definitely not dumb, and they'll use either one, the d or the 1. I think it is a personal preference in how the hand is used.
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the lady at mall signed it that way to tell me her brother is deaf but I lip-read her as "deaf dumb" and I asked her to repeat it few more times to make sure.

I corrected her. I asked if her brother is mentally-retarded or if he's "dumb". She said no..... and then she went :eek3: I'm not sure how can she not realize it at all till now.

wouldn't be surprised if older generation uses d-sign and younger generation uses 1-sign. different time. different perception.
 
It's just another example of the initializing craze.
 
Does anyone think that the current sign for deaf will change? When I was taught the sign I was told that the reason the "number 1" hand points from the ear to the mouth was because of the old fashioned phrase "deaf and dumb."

Even now, if you look up dumb in an on-line dictionary (dictionary.com for example), most of the definitions given are for mute, not stupid.

However, FWIW:

* I don't think most people realize that dumb has an additional meaning.
* Most deaf people are not only not stupid but they aren't mute either

So ... I'm kind of surprised that we still use this sign. Is anyone else surprised? Do you think there will ever be a different sign used?
 
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