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BROCCOLI: The American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "broccoli"
There are several different ways to sign "broccoli." I'll show you a couple here and discuss it more in the notes. Of course, always try to see (and use!) the signs that your local Deaf are using for signs in your area.
BROCCOLI: non-dominant 5-hand / 3-clump version:
BROCCOLI: non-dominant 5-hand / 2-clump (higher context) version:
Notes:
QUESTION:
From: ██████>
Sent: Sun, Apr 23, 2023 7:51 pm
Subject: Broccoli
I have a question about the sign for BROCCOLI. You have a video for it, the version one,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1_4govnYiw
In the description you say, clumps on V handshape. However, the video shows a 5 handshape. I doubt you meant that V as a roman numeral as that would be confusing to many people.
Anyway, my question is I learned the sign using a clump and a V handshape, and the non dominant hand clump meeting against the V fingertips twice.
I learned this from my native Deaf tutor I had in Portland, but cannot find this sign anywhere. However, my sign lines up with your description, just not your video.
I was hoping you could provide some insight on this and let me know if you have seen it the way I am describing? Thanks a bunch!
██████
ANSWER:
From: Dr. Bill
Sent: Sun, Apr 23, 2023 8:40 pm
Subject: LP: Broccoli
██████,
Hello :)
I went ahead and updated the caption for that video to correctly label it as a "five" hand (not a "V" hand), thanks!
Broccoli is one of those concepts that is just common enough that there are signs for it but rare enough that the signs are inconsistent.
Over at spreadthesign(dog)com we see broccoli signed prefaced by the sign "green" for context and then done using five movements showing "clumps." That is too many movements to be practical. Their version uses a single non-dominant index finger to show one stalk (not two and not five).
Source: https://media.spreadthesign.com/video/mp4/13/455256.mp4 I would suggest to you that what the ASL model at that link is signing isn't the sign for "broccoli" but rather she is signing an "expansion" for broccoli. Or in other words, she is explaining what it looks like. An "expansion" isn't the same thing as having a specific, easily usable, time-efficient, and energy-economical sign. If a group of Deaf were placed in a room and paid to discuss broccoli for an hour straight -- you can bet by the end of the hour the sign would have condensed from: GREEN, CLUMP, CLUMP, CLUMP, CLUMP, CLUMP -- to instead just being signed as "CLUMP, CLUMP." Thus we have an example of why it is best to learn as much as we can from real-world interaction with local, highly-skilled, long-term ASL signers.
Sort of amusingly, this fellow is doing a twist version as his sign for broccoli at the 2:49 mark of:
https://youtu.be/0LZGYwDO-QE?t=169
I absolutely do not recommend that version at all. Avoid that version.
For what it is worth, I do like the non-dominant "V" hand version of broccoli.
I also very-much like the non-dominant 5-hand version of broccoli and consider it my "preferred" or "recommended" version.
The three clump (nd-5-hand version) is good for a first introduction of the concept during a conversation along with perhaps spelling "broccoli" first if you suspect your audience might not know the sign. After you have established context you will probably naturally evolve into doing the two clump (nd-5-hand) version since it is faster yet still gets the concept across. https://youtu.be/19Qln6RdNVU
I'll also suggest that the more times you sign broccoli in the same conversation -- the more it will tend to become further reduced.
Worth noting is another version of the sign for broccoli that uses the forearm to depict the stem, a claw hand to depict the general shape of the top portion of the broccoli, and a twist movement: https://youtu.be/9GchyJjhXAs?t=82
Notice how the sign is being approached? A picture of broccoli is shown, the English word "broccoli" is presented (in the color green!), repetition is used, rhythm is used, and a depictive expansion is added showing very clearly the nature of a broccoli plant. In this video we are in the presence of excellence in instruction. The Deaf youth at the Texas School for the Deaf are in excellent hands. I have the pleasure of knowing the signer personally. She is Lisa Cochran, Deaf of Deaf, and has taught at TSD for many years).
While that version isn't my personal first choice, the fact that Lisa is using that sign and that she teaches at TSD -- firmly cements the sign as an important version worth adding to signer's mental toolkit. That version is somewhat based on a much older signed English version of broccoli that used a "B" hand but has obviously updated (via de-initialization) to avoid the English letter "B."
So let's not think of broccoli as having a single right sign -- but rather -- let's think of broccoli as having several versions and even versions of versions .
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