ASL University ►


American Sign Language:  "wet" / "humid" (scroll down to see: "wet-wipes")


WET:  If you do this sign with a single movement, it means "wet."
If you do it with a double movement it can mean either "wet" or "humid."
If you do this sign with a gentle facial expression it can mean "soft."


 



WET-WIPES:

Notes:  Many people start the sign "wet" by touching a loose "W" handshape to the front of their chin. (A relaxed a modification of the sign for water).  But on compound signs like "wet-wipes" you tend to drop parts of the two signs from which the compound is made..



American Sign Language University ™ ASL resources by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars
back.gif (1674 bytes)
Optional reading:

In a message dated 10/19/2004 10:00:43 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Dave______@cs.com writes:

I am wondering in what context would you use the term "wet wipes"?
Do you use this term for when you would be talking about washing a car?

Thanks
Dave

Dave,

If and when you become a parent you will likely develop an appreciation for the type of "wet wipe" to which I'm referring and the value of keeping these items in the car.  Heh.
The "washing a car" sign would be more like "wax on, wax off." (If you have no clue what that means--just mime washing a car, and/or go watch the
original "Karate Kid" movie.)
Regarding the practice sentence: "Do you keep wet wipes in the car?"  For most people the answer is simply "no."  For parents of young children the answer is often a greatly emphasized "yes." 
Many, many people who are now taking ASL classes are doing so in order to facilitate the language development of their babies.  Such being the case I have chosen to keep that phrase in the curriculum.
I'm not so much interested in the concept of "wet-wipe" but in the student knowing there is a sign for "wet" (and its variations) and how it can be combined with other concepts.
That particular sentence ("Do you keep wet wipes in the car?") is testing to see if students know the sign "keep."  It also requires students to think in ASL grammar instead of relying on the English preposition "in."  Also, it helps me to check if the students are raising their eyebrows to indicate a "yes/no" type sentence.
Cordially,
Dr. Bill


Want to help support ASL University?  It's easy DONATE (Thanks!)
(You don't need a PayPal account. Just look for the credit card logos and click continue.)

Another way to help is to buy something from the ASLU "Bookstore."

Want even more ASL resources?  Visit the "ASL Training Center!"  (Subscription Extension of ASLU)   CHECK IT OUT >


Bandwidth slow?  Check out "ASLUniversity.com" (a free mirror of Lifeprint.com less traffic, fast access)   VISIT >

 


You can learn sign language online at American Sign Language (ASL) University ™ 
Sign language lessons and resources.  Dr. William Vicars © Lifeprint.com

back.gif (1674 bytes)