Fingerspell the Alphabet in American Sign Language

If you've decided to learn sign language, whether just a little or a lot, the first step is to learn to finger-spell the alphabet. Different regions use different alphabets, some of them using one hand and some of them using two hands. This article focuses on the ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet, which is used in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Germany, Austria, Norway, and Finland[1] (with slight variations; see Tips below). Once you learn the signs for every letter, you can spell any and every word there is, as well as understand anyone who may try to communicate with you through finger-spelling. Here are the signs, as well as some guidelines for finger-spelling etiquette and good form.

Steps

Signs

With the exception of "G", "C", "O", and "H", your palm faces the person to whom you are speaking.

  1. A: Make a fist and then move your thumb over to the side of your hand.
  2. B. Put your fingers all straight up and touching and then bend your thumb over your palm.
  3. C. Curl your hands so it looks to you like a backwards "C".
  4. D. Touch your thumb and every finger but your index finger, which should point straight up.
  5. E. Start with a "B" hand. Bend your four fingers down so that the tips just touch your thumb. Be sure to pull it in so that it does not resemble an "O". (It is nothing like a claw.)
  6. F. Touch your index finger and thumb together and put the rest of your fingers up-- pulled together. This is often confused with "D" which is the opposite.
  7. G. Stick out your thumb and index finger about a centimeter apart and hold it sideways. Your palm faces yourself.
  8. H. Make a "G" and stick out your middle finger alongside of your index finger. Your palm faces yourself.
  9. I. Stick your pinkie straight up.
  10. J. Stick out your pinkie and twist inward in the shape of a "J".
  11. K. Put your middle and index finger up, and put your thumb on your forefinger.
  12. L. Make an "L" with your thumb and index finger.
  13. M. Point your fore-, middle, and ring fingers forward. Place the thumb beneath them.
  14. N. Point your forefinger and your middle finger forward. Place the thumb beneath them.
  15. O. Make an "O" with your fingers.
  16. P. Make a downwards-pointing "K" but with your thumb on your middle finger.
  17. Q. Point a "G" downwards. your two fingertips should almost touch each other.
  18. R. Cross your middle finger over your index finger.
  19. S. Make a fist and put your thumb on top of your fingers. This is often confused with "A" so pay careful attention to the thumb position.
  20. T. Make a fist and put your thumb between your middle finger and index finger.
  21. U. Orient your middle finger and your index finger upwards together.
  22. V. Make a "U", and separate the fingers.
  23. W. To a "V", add an upwards ring finger-- all fanned out.
  24. X. Make a fist and then raise and crook your index finger.
  25. Y. Stick out your pinkie and thumb.
  26. Z. Make a "Z", as you would write it, with your index finger.

Good Form

  1. Some tips for good form.
    • Keep your hand in one place.
    • Pause noticeably between individual words.
    • Avoid long nails or excessive jewelry, as it can be distracting to someone reading your hands.
    • When finger-spelling an acronym, move each letter in a small circle to let the reader know that they should not be read together as one word.
    • Don't bounce your hand between letters, unless there are two letters, in which case the bounce indicates the repetition of the signed letter (dragging the letter slightly to the side can also indicate repetition). Bouncing between every individual letter can make your finger-spelling difficult to understand. To prevent this from happening, hold your wrist with your free hand to prevent it from moving up and down when you practice. After a while, you'll get used to keeping your hand still without thinking about it.
    • Face your palm forward, except when you're signing the letters "G", "H" "C" and "O"(in which case the palm should face sideways).
    • Keep your finger-spelling hand at shoulder height.
    • Keep a consistent pace. Don't try to rush through finger-spelling. The more important thing is to sign each letter at a consistent rhythm (but without bouncing!) so that the reader can easily distinguish a pause. It's better to go slow and steady than to rush and suddenly pause when you can't remember a sign--the reader may misinterpret this as the beginning of a new word.



Tips

  • Practice this every day for a while, then go on and try to learn the actual signs to words.
  • It is very important to meet and sign with Deaf people in order to get a feel for how they sign and finger-spell. By interaction, you can more easily learn the "accent" or "dialect" used in your area. Depending on where you are in the USA, different signs and different forms may be used.
  • When you're first learning, take chunks of it (like A, B, C, D, E) and practice it the whole day. The next day, take another chunk (this time F, G, H, I, J) and add it on to yesterday's chunk.
  • If you can not make a sign with your palm facing other person, adjust your body position to make it comfortable.
  • Print out this PDF sheet which has all of the signs on one page, as it will help you remember if you forget a letter or two.
  • In Germany, Austria, Norway, and Finland, the "T" is like "G" with the thumb placed over the first knuckle of the pointer finger. German Ä, Ö, Ü, and ß are signed like A, O, U, and S but with a downward motion, while SCH is a 5 hand (palm forward). In Norwegian and Finnish, the letters Ä, Å, Ö, Ø are derived by moving A and O (in the case of Å, in a small window-washing circular motion), and it is the Æ that gets the 5 hand.[1]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ASL alphabet on Wikipedia
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