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Anachronistic signs:

An anachronism is "a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned" (Lexico).
Source: "anachronism." Lexico, Powered by Oxford. Web. 31 Dec 2019 <https://www.lexico.com/definition/anachronism>.

An anachronistic sign is a sign which depicts or is based on a thing, idea, or process that is not current.

The following is a partial list of anachronistic signs or "versions" of signs:

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BUS: Dominant crooked V handshape reaches up and tugs down twice on an imaginary overhead cord to alert the driver that one wants to get off at the next stop.

CAMERA The sign represents an old style camera that was held up to the eye which then peered through a hole and then the person taking the picture clicked on a button to 'take a picture.' Those cameras and the ASl sign for camera remain in use even though current telephones have built- in phone-cameras which, for millions of people, make the old style cameras and separate digital cameras obsolete.

CLOCK: The sign represents an old wall-mounted clock, most were circular in shape; these preceded clocks that could sit on a bedside table, on a desk, counter etc.

COFFEE: The sign represents an old wooden 'coffee box' which had a crank on the top used to grind the coffee beans.

COMPUTER-[tape-drive-version] The sign represents the tape drives on very old, big, bulky computers.

CREDIT-CARD-[anachronistic] To charge/pay for a purchase using a debit or credit card One sign represents an old-style unit on which the card was placed and then a mechanism was manually 'slid across the card and back' to record the card's numbers. See Signing Savvy - credit card. Today, one can 'swipe' or 'insert' the card in a small machine or hold a smartphone so a clerk can use a gadget to read one's banking information allowing for an instant payment in the store.

FORK: A utensil used for eating. Very early forks had two prongs, as represented in the ASL sign for fork; In a later era, table forks became three-pronged and in an even later era they became the four-pronged forks we use today. The sign for a two-pronged fork continues in use today.

HEARING-AID: Hearing aids The sign represents the old style 'hang over the ear' hearing aids which are very unlike the tiny contemporary aids that fit in the ear canal.

HOTEL: The sign represents an earlier era when most hotels had one or more 'attention flags' flying out front get the attention of potential guests.

INK: Dominant I handshape, dip the little finger into an imaginary inkwell, represented by a non dominant C or O handshape. Then, 'write' with the tip of the finger on an imaginary piece of paper, represented by the flat palm of the non-dominant hand.

MANAGE: Direct / Control: The sign seems to represent a person's hands holding two reins and using them to manage/direct or control a horse.

NEWSPAPER: Print, Publish based on old style printing process.

NEWSPAPER-[open-the-newspaper] Newspaper signed with "A" handshapes that mime opening a paper newspaper and holding it in an 'open' position for a split second and use head and eyes to pretend you are reading it. Reading a newspaper in a paper format is, of course, different from the method millions of people now use, to read a newspaper online.

PAGER: Pagers declined in use in the late 1990s, the advent of mobile phones greatly reduced the pagers industry although some pagers are still in use. When direct talk became available, millions of people stopped using pagers and opted for newer forms of technology that offer more efficient forms of communication.

TAKE-a-picture: The sign represents using an old style camera that was held up to the eye which then peered through a hole and then the person taking the picture clicked on a button to 'take a picture.' Those cameras and the ASl sign for camera remain in use even though current telephones have built- in phone-cameras which, for millions of people, make the old style cameras and separate digital cameras obsolete.

TELEPHONE: Dominant Y handshape represents the old style, bulky headset from a rotary dial phone.
TELEPHONE-[Answer the phone]
TELEPHONE-[Hang up or Hung up the phone]
TELEPHONE-[Kept calling, kept calling or Keeps calling, keeps calling]
TELEPHONE-[Talk on the phone]
TELEPHONE-[To 'call around.']
TELEPHONE-ringing-[Y-hand-version] depicts the jangling of a phone in the phone cradle.

VOTE: The sign represents someone dropping a ballot into a ballot box which is very unlike the way millions of people now fill out their ballot and 'mail it in' or vote by a voting machine which is also known as e-voting.
 



 

Notes:
Special thanks to Lyn Wiley (wordsmith, poet, and so much more) for being the catalyst of and contributor to this list.
 




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