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SECRETARY: The American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "secretary"
There are many variations of the sign for secretary. Use whichever version your local instructor or local Deaf use.
SECRETARY (recommended general version)
SECRETARY ("K" version)
SECRETARY ("U" version)
SECRETARY ("ear" version "P" handshape version)
SECRETARY ("ear" version)
Sample sentence: Do you wish that you had a secretary?
Notes:
The sign for "secretary" has to do with the act of writing down something your boss has told to you. It used to be that most bosses didn't know how to type. (I kid you not.) They would dictate a letter to their secretary who would write it down and then go type it out.
Think of a person pulling a pencil from behind her ear or "wetting a pencil" then writing on a piece of paper. Believe it or not, in the "old days" it actually helped pencils to write better or go faster if they had a bit of saliva on them. (Do not try saliva on your phone or keyboard--it won't help you type faster).
Notes:
Note: Also of possible interest: When referring to a "Secretary" of state (official) I would recommend spelling "SEC". If the situation is ambiguous (when referring to a secretary of state) then spell out "secretary" on first reference and abbreviate to SEC later.
However, recommendations aside, "secretary" is one of those concepts that you simply need to learn several versions and keep them in your mental toolbox since those versions are floating around "out there" in the Deaf Community. If you see someone using version of the sign SECRETARY to refer to a "secretary of state" do not think of it as wrong but rather as a vote for that version being cast by that signer.
For example, we can see the "U" hand version of secretary being signed in a newscast at the 5:18 mark of this video:
https://youtu.be/Pp_aWq2pNR8?t=317
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