APPEAR: The American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "appear"
The right sign for "appear" depends on your meaning.


 

If you mean appear as in "show up" there is a specific sign for "showing up."
 

SHOW-UP or "pop-up"

 


Also see: SHOW-UP
Note: I've seen some ASL teachers use the "pop up" sign (above) as part of the concept of a "pop quiz."  I don't have a problem with that but personally I prefer to sign SURPRISE Q-U-I-Z instead


 

If you mean "appear" as in "it appears that..." then you should use the "SEEM" sign.

 

SEEM:

 

 

Also see: SEEM



If you mean "appear" as in "looks" or a person's appearance, you should use the "FACE" sign.

FACE or appearance:

 

 


Question: A student asks:
Is there a difference between "appear" and "tampon", or is it just context?

Response:
Think of the signs APPEAR-(show-up) and TAMPON as being on the same spectrum with a lot of overlap. By that I mean yes, they can look the same and be distinguishable only by context -- however you can sign TAMPON using a micro-pause at the point of "insertion" resulting in a very minor difference.

So sometimes the signs look the same.
Sometimes the signs exhibit a very minor but observable difference.

Plus be aware that many skilled signers prefer to just spell "tampon."

 

 

PAD:

 

PERIOD:

 


Notes: 

Also see: FACE

TAMPON




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