American Sign Language: "bell
/ ringing / alarm"
Notes: The "thing" that hangs down in the middle of a bell is called a "clapper." Think of this sign as showing the clapper striking the inside wall of the bell. Use a single larger movement to mean "ring" and change the wiggle the clapper as you pull it away from the bell to indicate the nature of the ringing. If it is a quick, shrill ringing, then repeat the movement many times using a fast, small movement. If it is a loud sound then use a more forceful bang against your hand. If the sound of the bell "resonates for a while"-- you can show this after the initial "clap" against the hand by dragging the clapper through the air off to the right while shaking the "Q"-handshape a couple times.
A version of this sign is done with the index finger pointing up instead of down. That version can also be used to indicate general "ringing" or an "alarm."
Sign: BELL
A colleague writes:
"... in preparation for a performance party with my ASL 3 students, I am having them do "I Heard the Bells"... an old Christmas favorite of mine. ... [The song has the word] "BELL" followed immediately by "RINGING"... how is the best way to handle this?
Reply:
Show the inital clap of the bell, and then drag the clapper through the air a
bit showing the reverberation of the ringing in the air.
(Sort of like the
sign "green" heh).
Here is an animated gif example:
--modify the ringing to meet your needs. For example, you could do a
double clap of the ringer for "bells" and then do the reverberation for ringing
and time it to match the tempo of the song.
Remember: The "alarm" version points the index finger up, not down, and uses several quick movements.
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