DISCUSSION:
Sandy: How are "name signs" established?
DrVicars: Name signs are somewhat like "Indian names." You may
have seen the movie,
"Dances with Wolves?"
Sandy: :-)
DrVicars: The hero in the movie got that name because he was playing around in a field
with a wolf. The Deaf will sometimes assign you a name. A very typical method is to take the
first letter of your name and put it in the location of a sign that means something that you do.
For example a person named Kelsey who has a dimple might be given the sign of a "k"
handshape twisting on the cheek.
Tigie: My nickname is the sign for tiger.
DrVicars: Do people initialize it with a "T"?
Tigie: No, two "whiskers" or claws on the each side of the face
Sandy: Ok, that explains why a co-worker refers to his Army buddy with a salute while
forming "r", for Ray
DrVicars: Right it is a good system but localized. You can't just go anywhere and sign
a name sign. Some books have (at least one that I've seen) tried to provide a standardized
method. But that kind of effort never sticks very long. If you had two or three people
named Joe running around with the same name sign--it would get confusing which one you are
talking about. In my family we have a son named Ben. Ben has a friend named Ben. So we tend to sign/spell "LB" for
our son, meaning "Little Ben." For little Ben's friend "Big Ben" we touch a "B"
hand to the head then the
chest. An important note though, is that at home when we talk about Ben amongst ourselves
we STILL sign "LB" even when we DON'T say the word little. The point is that
although we may have started signing "LB" due to initialization, after a while the connection
was lost and in our minds the ASL name sign "LB" simply became directly attached to our
son not the English initials "l" and "b."
That is how ASL works in general. Signs carry meaning independent of
English--regardless if there was originally some English influence.
While hearing people occasionally influence the
development of ASL, (Thomas Gallaudet, for example) but it is the Deaf Community as a
whole that decides whether to accept or reject new signs. If you take a Deaf Culture
class, you might be told that "the only right way to get a name sign is to have it
assigned to you from a Deaf person." I'll go along with that
as long as we stick with a cultural definition of a Deaf person and not a
physically deaf person. Meaning, suppose there is a fellow that has lived in the
Deaf community all of his life, has Deaf parents, teaches at the state school for the
deaf, married a Deaf woman, and has deaf kids. Are you going to tell me he isn't
culturally Deaf? Of course he is. (He's likely what I'd call "bicultural.") So, being Deaf (with
a capital "D") he
has the right to hand out name signs. The fact that he is physically hearing (or
"bicultural") doesn't negate his cultural Deafness and certainly doesn't negate
his ability to assign culturally appropriate name signs. Watch out though, there are
people out there that haven't a clue about this "cultural Deafness" concept and
will rail on bicultural people who hand out name signs.
One last thought on this is that "Hearing" standards of culture don't apply
here. Deaf will sometimes give a name sign to someone with a facial scar--that
points out the fact that the person has a scar. This would be rude in hearing culture because it calls attention to a physical
"defect" but to the deaf it is obvious and effective. Don't think they are
rude because of it. To them it is normal. After all, the person knows he has a scar.
In a message dated 5/8/2004 8:56:45 AM Pacific Daylight Time, RobertCMazur
writes:
Hi Bill,
Found the NAME SIGNS section in the library. If I'm reading the article
correctly, they are equivalent to monikers that we use like "SLIM" for a
skinny person. They can also be mis-monikers, so that a fat person could be
called "SLIM."
However, my name is Robert, and if there isn't an acceptable ASL fingerspell
short form, or handsign, then I'll have to spell it in full. My family and
friends all call me Robert. I've never been given a "pet" or "nick" name. When
I asked about this, they'd all say that I "looked" like a "Robert," and that
nothing else seemed right to call me by. Go figure!
In the radio amateur (Ham) world, my international callsign is VA3ROM. Any
other Ham in the world would instantly know that I'm from Ontario, Canada and
would simply call me R-O-M, and not use my given name at all. My friend
Steven, VE3DP, would be called D-P (or DELTA-PAPA. 3-letter suffices aren't
sounded phonetically after the initial name/callsign introductions.) Since,
most of my friends are Hams, and I've been R-O-M for so long, that's become my
monicker, or radio NAME SIGN. Even my callsign is just my initials, which was
assigned at the issuing office. Guess the radio inspector thought that I
"looked" like an R-O-M!
Now, if I stepped into the culturally Deaf world, I would have to accept and
respect its history and traditions, just as I have in the radio world. But,
even though I may be given a NAME SIGN, flattering or otherwise, by new Deaf
friends, I would probably never use the NAME SIGN, especially if I didn't like
it, just ROBERT#. Unless they also happened to be Deaf Hams. Then we would
just NAME SIGN to each other's callsign prefixes!
Hopefully, I'm not being overly prickly or sensitive, or misunderstanding the
concept of NAME SIGNS, and talking through my hat on this issue. My wife
always called me Robert, she said that nothing else seemed to fit. Go figure!
Regards,
Robert
P.S. I know that you a very busy. Don't feel obligated to reply to my rant.
I'll be butting heads on on this issue locally in a while, and probably get
the NAME SIGN of "STUBBORN" if I'm lucky, and "DONKEY" if I'm not. LOL.
Robert,
Allow me to bestow upon you your first ASL namesign:
Tap the tip of an "R" handshape twice on the side of your head just above
your ear. This namesign represents your interest in Ham radio.
Bill
Note: Belinda, my wife, received her "first" namesign from her
hearing teacher at the Kern County Deaf Day Program. The namesign
was a "B" on the chin. The other deaf kids teased her about it for a couple
of years because it was similar to the sign for b-tch. Then in fifth grade
she went to deaf camp where one of the Deaf teachers upon seeing the "b on
the chin" namesign remarked that maybe her namesign should be a "B" on the
nose for being full of sh-t. She decided then and there to change her name
to a "B moving downward at the side of the head" -- representing her long
hair (at the time). She has happily used that namesign since fifth grade.
--Bill
In a message dated 6/9/2004 12:56:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time, grushkind@csus.edu
writes:
You're not supposed to pick your own sign name. It is supposed to
be given to you, and only by a Deaf person, although in some cases, it can
be and has been from CODAs. ...It is typically indicative that one has been
accepted into the Deaf community by Deaf people, although I have noticed
that the younger generation seems to be getting them by younger deaf people
who I would say don't really understand the rules for naming or when to
name, but the hearing kids insist on keeping their name sign since they
think that since the person was deaf, it is therefore theirs to keep.
I have heard it said that name signs given by Hearing people are often
"wrong" in that the Hearing people don't know the "rules" for name signs.
for example, I have heard that the Initialized sign-"Hair" combination is
one of those sign names that violates the name signs "rules". Another
example I know of, there is a boy at CSDF named Tyler whose name sign is
"T-Y" or maybe "T-L" or "T-R" on the chest (it might be one of the latter
two-- I remember when my wife mentioned that sign name I was startled at the
strangeness of the sign name) that was given to him by his former public
school classroom teacher (Hearing). It didn't conform to the rules -- if it
was T+ last initial, that would be ok, but to take two letters from the
first name, especially since the letters chosen were phonically based, just
looked wrong. Look up Sam Supalla's Book of Name Signs. He describes the
rules for naming in there, and gives acceptable combinations. I'm sure he
missed a few, but for the most part it gibes.
I used to give name signs to my students who came into my ASL 3 class,
figuring they had continued their education far enough into ASL that they
deserved one, but this became time consuming and hard to think of really
good name signs for them, so I discontinued that practice.
As for me, I never really had a name sign. When I was in MSSD, some of the
kids tried to give me name signs that were either as a joke or somewhat
insulting -- dealing with my religion or relating to physical features
(glasses, nose) that I didn't want emphasized as my name sign. So I never
accepted any of these. Nothing ever stuck. When I was in Gally, in my
Fraternity we had 3 or 4 Dons (I can only remember 3, but that is still
enough...) so we would mention them by their name and last initial.
...
One of my friends at Gally had a good name sign story. His parents are Deaf
also, and they would go to the Deaf Club. His father had a name sign with I
think B on the chin for "Bailey" (their last name). When it was time to go,
they would go looking for their son Bruce, who had disappeared off into some
dark recesses with his friends. So the parents would go looking for their
son, and ask the other Deafies there where their son was. The word would go
around asking "WHERE BAILEY SON?". Soon enough, BAILEY SON became
compounded and assimilated into the single sign name B-in elbow, and that is
the name sign he has to this day.
--Don G.
In a message dated 7/18/2006 12:06:32 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
spreetster@ writes:
Hello, Dr. Vicars!
I have a question regarding name signs. I am a hearing teacher of 7 hearing
students who have significant developmental disabilities. They are all
nonverbal, and my main goal was to find a system of communication for them.
We tried PECS and communication boards all year with no results, and finally
found success using signs. Naturally, I'm excited about this and plan to
expand the signing in the coming school year. We are in a small, rural
county with no Deaf community whatsoever...I don't know of anyone who
signs. Here's my question: I know you can't assign yourself a name sign,
nor can a hearing person assign a name sign, but in my situation, doing a
limited number of simple signs with my students, can I? I feel like the
children need a way to refer to each other, and a way to express their own
identity.
Sincerely,
Amanda Bock
Your first and last name: Amanda Bock
Your mailing address: 5541 Merle Avenue, Columbus, GA, 31909
Your organization: LK Moss Primary School
Your position or title in that organization: Special Education Teacher,
Early Intervention
The name of the project you are working on: Early Intervention for students
ages 3+ with significant developmental delays.
What resources of mine are currently helping you: ASL lessons, learning
vocabulary and usage, learning about Deaf culture. Also, I have printed
some pages and sent them home as summer booklets for parents, so they can
sign with their children. The graphics paired with verbal descriptions of
the signs are fantastic.
How can I better help you to achieve your goals: You are doing more than
you can even imagine! My students' lives have completely turned around
since we introduced signing. And their parents are eternally grateful :)
Amanda,
There is a very real danger of a fledgling signer handing out name signs of
an embarrassing or offensive nature. For example, you might have a student
named Paul who always smells things. You might think it is a good idea to
sign the letter "P" on the nose to indicate Paul. That would be very
inappropriate since that particular sign happens to be one of the signs for
"P_NIS." That is one of the reasons why in the Deaf community we have that
"rule" regarding getting your name sign from a Deaf person.
While it is "best" to have a Deaf person (who is very familiar with ASL)
assign name signs to you and your students, I would certainly support the
creation of "temporary" name signs until you are able to have a Deaf person
(or at least a highly skilled interpreter check them out).
For now you may wish to tap the initial of their first names just below the
non-dominant shoulder (generally the "upper left hand area of the chest") or
the forearm which are relatively safe areas. And then at the first chance
you get, ask a Deaf person to review your sign choices and either approve
them or suggest new ones. I'd much rather you make a temporary mistake than
be paralyzed by fear. By all means, proceed, and do what you can with what
you have.
Cordially,
Bill
In a message dated 7/18/2006 3:28:25 PM Pacific Daylight Time, spreetster@yahoo.com
writes:
Bill, thank you for a very insightful answer. I hadn't thought of that. I
guess I should have, after reading the story of your wife's name sign! Just
to let you know, the initials are L, D, S, T, K, M, and then there's another
T. I'll do all under the shoulder, except one T will be on the left
forearm. If any of those have another meaning, will you let me know? Thank
you for your consideration!
Amanda
Amanda,
The L hand on the upper left chest could be interpreted as LAZY if it is
palm back. If you make contact with the tip of the thumb (palm down) it
wouldn't mean anything.
Some people "might" try to claim a "D" means detective, and an "M" means
missionary or morals. But those two signs tend to use a small rotational
movement rather than a double tap.
Bill
In a message dated 12/31/2006 10:48:29 PM Pacific Standard Time, an ASL Hero writes:
The deaf folks in south Texas use both [arbitrary and descriptive name signs] some only the strictly basic,
initial on the chest. Others had very interesting stories behind their signs--from hearing moms, in most
cases, occasionally not. [In most cases the] reason for the descriptive name sign was from unique behaviour,
whereas another kid in the family had a completely [arbitrary] initialized signed name. It made me think of
the native American Indians, and how some kids were named later [according] to their personality after it
blossomed, or after a name was earned in adulthood (not entirely the same principle, of course).
Lizzy,
Terrific information about the Native Americans. Wonderful comparison. I do believe I'll have to provide the extra-credit
option to my ASL students of studying and comparing Native American naming with the naming processes of the American Deaf
Community.
--Bill
In a message dated 1/2/2007 7:56:30 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
jdarling@ writes:
This note is in reply to your name signs [discussion]. I am the
child of deaf parents (only child) and culturally deaf, yet no
one ever gave me a name sign. When I started working with deaf
children in the schools, they gave me a name sign. Curious.
J. Darling,
Makes me wonder if your first name is very short. Sometimes it is
just as fast and easy to spell a person's name as it is to give them a
namesign.
My name, B-I-L-L spells very quickly and is often used instead of my
namesign (a "V" to the side of the head).
--Bill
In a message dated 1/3/2007 4:16:06 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
JDARLING@ writes:
Yes, my name is Jean, so I guess you could be right. To tell
you the
truth, I guess it really doesn't matter. I have many deaf
friends, some
I've known all my life and others I've met over the years and it
really
was never that important. Jean