ASL very / "VERY" in American Sign Language

(The above facial expression would fit the context of a discussion regarding how serious something is.)

Question: Is there an ASL sign for "very?"

You might get conflicting opinions regarding one particular version of "very" -- but I'm going to suggest to you that yes, there is indeed a specific ASL sign that is sometimes used for the concept of "very." It looks like the sign "BIG" but is done with "V" handshapes.

However, if you are learning ASL as a second language I suggest that you focus on inflecting your signs to instill the meaning of "very" into your existing sign or set of signs instead of using the sign VERY.

For example, suppose our mutual friend got sunburned badly and I wanted to tell you about it, I might wish to express the concept:

"His face was very red."

In that sentence the word "very" is an adverb. The word "red" is an adjective.
In ASL I'd use the signs: "HIS FACE RED." To indicate the concept of "very red" I would "inflect" (change the way I signed) the concept "red" in the following ways:

1. I'd use an intense facial expression

2. I'd hold the initial handshape in starting location for a fraction of an instant longer before starting the movement.

3. I'd do a larger downward movement.

4. I'd hold the ending handshape in the ending location for a fraction of an instant longer than normal.

5. At the beginning of the sign I'd tilt my head back slightly and then as I did the sign I'd nod my head using a single, short, quick movement.

6. My elbow would stick slightly farther out to the side at the beginning of the sign and bring the elbow down sharply during the sign.

Those six modifications (inflections) to the sign "RED" would change the sign to mean "very-RED."
Those six modifications actually created the adverb "very."

Most verbs and many other signs can be inflected in such a way as to eliminate for need for a separate sign for "very."

Notes:

QUESTION:
An ASL Instructor (Deaf/over 30 years teaching experience) writes:

"I have a question about expressing the concept of 'very'. . .
Is it also correct, in certain situations, to convey the concept of 'very' by using the sign for: really; truly (as signed with a dominant index finger held in front of the nose; palm faces the non-dominant side of body and finger points up; move hand in one, small upward-forward arc)?

For example, to express that someone is 'very polite,' would it be correct to sign: truly, polite?
In almost all instances I use the methods you described on your 'very' page but I do occasionally use the 'truly/really' sign as well. Or I use it in conjunction with the methods you described."

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RESPONSE:
Dear _____ (Name removed to protect the person's privacy.)
Hello.
Yes, certainly, the sign for TRUE is often used to express the concept of "very" in ASL.
Another sign in this category is the TERRIBLE/awful/awesome sign. It is sometimes used to mean "extremely" or "exceedingly." As in "MOVIE TERRIBLE-[extremely] GOOD!"
Also the "too-MUCH" sign (the one that uses bent hands and can mean "over" or "more than") can mean "very" in situations where English might use "overly."
Depending on context, the CHAMP sign can mean "very."
Any other similar signs dome to mind?
- Dr. Bill

Statement:
An ASL student writes:
"I had one Deaf teacher, during casual conversation, stop me in my tracks when I used the older version of VERY (two V hands)."

Response:
Personally, I prefer to think of that version of "VERY" as the "initialized" version.

I could show you a dozen videos of skilled Deaf signers using the sign VERY in the relatively recent past. The sign VERY is obviously part of ASL lexicon (or "vocabulary").

Some people choose to label VERY as "Signed English." Just because someone call a sign English doesn't mean that it isn't ASL.

I would be so bold as to challenge your Deaf teacher (I'm Deaf too) but the argument to defend "VERY" takes a half hour of discussion and an open mind otherwise the truth of the situation can't get through to most people. So, just put the VERY sign on your radar and in your recognition vocabulary toolbox. Of course your local ASL teacher gets to be right -- for 15 weeks or until you get the grade you want. After that the Deaf community is right.

Do I teach the initialized "VERY" sign in my ASL classes? No. Not because it isn't "common" in ASL but because I know my students would be criticized by their future ASL teachers. I also would rather my students focus on learning how to modify (inflect) their existing signs to create the meaning of "very" without having to use a separate sign). However, every interpreter had better recognize the "VERY" sign. Why? It shows up often on the hands of Deaf ASL signers.

Is "VERY" ASL? You decide:

Case study of a real-life signing situation involving spontaneous reactions and signing from a significant number of Deaf people in a strongly Deaf-representative situation:

YouTube Video title: "ASL FILMS: WRONG GAME at FLINT, MICHIGAN"
URL: https://youtu.be/Y2gliivNRJo
Posted: Sep 24, 2007
YouTube channel: aslfilms
Views: 21,333 views as of 2/23/2024

The film "WRONG GAME" was shown at Michigan School for the Deaf on Sept. 21 and 22, 2007. Deaf moviegoers were interviewed after viewing the film and their signed comments were recorded and posted to YouTube.

0:58 Man with floral print shirt signed: VERY GOOD MOVIE
1:05 Man with gold watch signed: I CAN'T BELIEVE VERY GOOD...
1:14 woman signed: VERY GOOD
1:35 short woman in blue shirt signed: VERY GOOD
1:46 woman in black shirt signed: VERY, VERY GOOD
1:52 man signed: VERY GOOD
2:12 woman with sweater over shoulder signs VERY, VERY, pauses for the camera and then signs VERY INTERESTING
2:40 woman in white shirt signs VERY GOOD
3:51 woman signed VERY GOOD
4:00 woman signed VERY WONDERFUL
4:14 woman in striped shirt signed: VERY GOOD
5:31 woman signs VERY VERY (fs)-TRICK (using a V hand on the dominant hand and an index finger on the non-dominant hand)

Takeaways:
In a time span of about 5 minutes we see at least 12 different Adult Deaf Community members who are fluent signers use the initialized sign VERY.

This signing is being done by Deaf people.
This signing is being done at a Deaf event.
This signing is being done at a Deaf location (The Michigan School for the Deaf)

Unless you plan on ignoring the facts above you cannot claim that the sign "VERY" is not part of the lexicon (vocabulary) of ASL. This is real ASL being done by Deaf Americans in an authentic situation. It is -- not "Teacher ASL," not "Stage performer ASL," and not "rehearsed and intentionally modified ASL" used by someone attempting to appear skilled in ASL. This is real-life ASL being done by typical Deaf ASL signers and there is zero doubt that they are comfortable with signing "VERY" and many of them did (and do) so without hesitation!

Very smart (depictive classifier / addition of a second hand / use of CHA mouth morpheme / use if intensity of facial expression) https://youtu.be/QmxSmT5KVHU

Very interested (version "fascinated") Uses internal movement / finger wiggling to create the "very" concept. https://youtu.be/ylydVRxTPkM

Note: The "Y" hand classifier / depictive sign can be used to indicate some things are very wide, fat, or big. (words, mouths, body waddling, taking a very long time)

On a separate note I'll mention just briefly a thought regarding perception. People drinking coffee out of a white mug judge that coffee as being more "intense" than if they were to drink the same coffee out of a transparent mug or a blue mug.
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284437683_Does_the_colour_of_the_mug_influence_the_taste_of_the_coffee )

My point is simply that people make assumptions and claims about ASL that are influenced by things other than the actual nature of ASL. Fortunately in our modern life we have access to video recordings of ASL done in natural settings and we can analyze what we are seeing and can increasingly make decisions about the nature of ASL based on facts and science -- not on opinions.

So, instead of perpetuating the myth that VERY is not ASL maybe you should instead use a more accurate and more nuanced approach:

The sign VERY is a common part of ASL recognized by virtually all (and personally used by a significant number of) socially active Deaf adult skilled signers. The ASL sign VERY is often maligned and mislabeled (as English) by ASL teachers and content creators due to the tendency of ASL as a second language learners to overuse and misuse the VERY sign when better, clearer, or more efficient approaches to communication exist but are not-yet known to the second language learner.

In other words, there are a great number of ways to express the concept of "very" in American Sign Language. The use of the initialized ASL sign VERY to the exclusion of those other ways is an abuse of the ASL sign VERY. This abuse doesn't mean the sign VERY isn't part of ASL vocabulary -- it just means that beginning signers don't know the hundreds of other ways to express the concept of very and ASL teachers tend to take the low-effort approach of mislabeling the sign as English - (even though they know all their Deaf friends recognize and many use the sign VERY).

When ASL instructors make short, blanket statements regarding the complex nature of a sign such as VERY they are doing something known as "throwing out the baby with the bathwater."

Instead wouldn't it be great if we started investing the time to explain that VERY is a common ASL sign but is often not the best choice for a great number of situations (literally hundreds or more).

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Additional notes:
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I understand that most high school or college ASL instructors just don't have the time to expand on everything that needs expanding on. You've got a curriculum to get through and it would take a chapter (or two -- or three) to dive into the many ways to sign the concept of "very." With that in mind I'm developing a web page at Lifeprint and also putting together what I think will be a fun / interesting instructional video showing a bunch of different ways to sign the concept of "very" -- including the legitimate (yet abused) ASL sign "VERY."

VERY: The American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "very"