Lesson 2 Checklist:
I am able to recognize and use
the "yes/no"
non-manual marker I am able to recognize
and use the "wh"
non-manual marker I am able to recognize
and produce each letter of the fingerspelled alphabet I am able to use Indexing
to sign personal pronouns I am able to name several
(3 or more) methods of Pluralization I am able to show Possession
and I know the sign for "have." I can show who did what
to whom by using Directionality I am able to recognize
and use head-nod for affirmation I am able to recognize
and use head-shake for negation
I am able to recognize and sign
numbers 6-10 I am able to recognize
and use the "agent" affix I understand the basics
of asking for clarification of a
sign
I am able to recognize and sign
the vocabulary for this lesson I am able to recognize
and sign the practice sentences and story
for this lesson I have taken the Lesson
2 Quiz I am done with Lesson 2
HELLO
I B-I-L-L V-I-C-A-R-S [first and last name].
DEAF I
WIFE B-E-L-I-N-D-A, SHE DEAF
FOUR CHILDREN
[Left hand hold up a "four" handshape, palm back, arm held at a comfortable angle, keep it there. Sweep the tip of the right index finger along the tips of the first three fingers of the left hand. ]
HEARING
[Touch the tip of the pinkie finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand.]
DEAF [nod, and touch the pinkie finger again, then,]
TWO BOY
[Touch the tip of the index finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand, then touch the tip of the ring finger of the left hand.]
GIRL, [Touch the tip of the middle finger and then the pinkie]
[Touch the tip of the index finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand.]
L-O-G-A-N (normally you'd indicate the age here, but we'll learn that in a later lesson)
[Touch the tip of the left, middle finger.]
K-E-L-S-E-Y
[Touch the tip of the ring finger.]
B-E-N
[Touch the tip of the pinkie finger.]
S-A-R-A-H
Story 2.B
HELLO
I KELSEY VICARS
HEARING I
MOTHER FATHER DEAF
FATHER NAME BILL
MOTHER BELINDA
HAVE TWO BROTHER ONE SISTER
[Hold up your left hand in a "four" handshape, palm facing back, arm held at a comfortable angle, keep it there.]
[Touch the tip of the index finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand.]
BROTHER, L-O-G-A-N, HEARING, MARRIED, 2 CHILDREN
[Touch the tip of the middle finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand.]
ME, SINGLE
[Touch the tip of the ring finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand.]
BROTHER, FRED, DIVORCED, ZERO CHILDREN
[Touch the tip of the pinkie finger of the left "four" hand with the pad of the right index finger of the right "one" hand.]
SISTER, S-A-R-A-H, DEAF, SINGLE
Disscussion
Head nodding, head shaking, and no
"be-verbs"
Discussion: When signing a sentence in ASL you don't use "state
of being verbs," (is, am, was, were, are, be, being, been...). For
example: "I am happy" would be signed, "I
HAPPY" while nodding my head and smiling. If I wanted to sign
"I'm not happy," I'd sign "I HAPPY" while shaking
my head negatively and frowning a bit or pursing my lips.
To affirm that a thing or state exists in ASL you nod your head.
When negating the existence of a state or thing in ASL you shake your head.
While ASL doesn't use signs for "be verbs" there "are" signs for
"be verbs," but in ASL these signs are used only in situations where
you are talking about English. For example, a teacher in an English
class at a deaf school might use signs for "is, am, was, were, be,
being, been..." to teach about
the English language. But the rule is ASL
doesn't use "be verbs." Most ASL instructors will tell you
ASL doesn't use "be verbs"--and they are right in that
the grammar of ASL doesn't establish a "subject"+ "be- verb"+ "adjective" type of sentence. Instead ASL uses a
"subject" + "predicate" type of structure.
("Predicate" is just a fancy word for "say something
about.") You might
call that a "topic" + "comment" sentence
structure. Some people say that ASL doesn't use a "SVO"
or "Subject-Verb-Object" sentence structure. Hogwash. ASL
does indeed make use of SVO sentence types. For example: "I GO
STORE" uses a "subject-verb-object" structure.
Don't let the gloss fool you, ("gloss" is what you call it when
you write one language in another.) Just because I didn't type the words
"am" and "to" doesn't mean that the function of
"am" and "to" aren't being taken care of. The
function of these words is to indicate "affirmation or
existence." The function of "AM" is replaced by a slight nod of the head; and "to"
is incorporated in the movement and direction of the sign for GO.
The sign "GO" actually means, "go to." There is
much more to ASL than can be easily reduced to paper.
Let's get really clear on this--if someone asks you, "Does ASL have
'be' verbs?" you should answer "no." If I ask you on a
quiz in this curriculum, "Does ASL have 'be' verbs?" you should
answer "no."
Other questions (not part of the quiz):
What is gloss? A way to write another language.
What is a predicate? A statement about a topic.
Another variation on Story 2:
STORY 2
HELLO
I J-a-c-k S-a-l-e-s-s-e-s.
Hearing I
FAMILY ALL HEARING
FATHER NAME John
MOTHER Barbara
HAVE One BROTHER, M-I-K-E (insert real name if you want)
I MARRY, S-a-n-d-y,
One CHILD, V-A-L
Hi Bill: I am really enjoying your online sign language course. I have a
question. How would you sign a story about a family and show them having 6
children, 2 boys and 4 girls the oldest a boy, the next a girl then a boy
the rest girls. What I am getting at is how can you sign 6 children do you
use two hands to show this? I know in lesson 2 you used one hand to show 4
children (yours) please explain. Thank you. Wendy Feldman
Wendy,
You would still just use one hand. On children 1 through 5 you tapped or
touched the tip of the thumb, then the tip of the index finger, then the tip
of the middle, then the tip of the ring, then the tip of the pinkie. When
you got to the sixth child you would change the left hand into a "six." As
you know, the "six" handshape brings the thumb and pinkie tips together. For
the sixth child you would use the right index fingertip to touch or tap the
combined tips of the left thumb and pinkie to indicate that you are
referencing a sixth child.
This is not a hard and fast system. But that is one way to approach it.