How Do You Sign This Word?

AND, I think I incorrectly make up compound signs sometimes. Is is incorrect, when signing "every thing", to sign "every" (a hands sideways, dominant hand brushing upward against the other stationary hand) and "thing"? Same with every time, every one etc.? :hmm:
 
My ASL atrocious but for bad mood would probably sign 'bad and feel.' Then, 'go' and 'boom' (like go, or else!). :giggle:

For 'everything' I sign every+thing. :hmm:
 
How about a sign for dork? What translates best, nerd? Weird + "O" (weirdo)? I think about making one up (teasing name exchanged with my husband), like just "DK".
 
bad mood - If I didn't want to be specific (angry, depressed, frustrated) then I would sign bad and then fingerspell mood

don't care - I use that sign no matter who I am referring to - me, he, she, them - but if it is someone else, I do the sign a little further away from my body closer to where I signed he, she, them.

that makes no sense - I would sign, "means what that?", or "don't-understand what say you", or even "crazy that" (if that was my opinion about what they were saying haha)

Be patient with yourself, learning ASL structure takes a loooong time and lots of exposure to the language. I suspect I will learning for the rest of my days haha because even in the community itself some sign strict ASL structure, some sign PSE, some sign somewhere inbetween - personal preference plays a big role and it depends on what kind of environment they grew up in and now live. Best advice I can give (for what it's worth), don't ever stop asking questions, don't ever assume there is only one way for something to be expressed. :)
 
Journey said:
bad mood - If I didn't want to be specific (angry, depressed, frustrated) then I would sign bad and then fingerspell mood

don't care - I use that sign no matter who I am referring to - me, he, she, them - but if it is someone else, I do the sign a little further away from my body closer to where I signed he, she, them.

that makes no sense - I would sign, "means what that?", or "don't-understand what say you", or even "crazy that" (if that was my opinion about what they were saying haha)

Be patient with yourself, learning ASL structure takes a loooong time and lots of exposure to the language. I suspect I will learning for the rest of my days haha because even in the community itself some sign strict ASL structure, some sign PSE, some sign somewhere inbetween - personal preference plays a big role and it depends on what kind of environment they grew up in and now live. Best advice I can give (for what it's worth), don't ever stop asking questions, don't ever assume there is only one way for something to be expressed. :)
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Thanks this helps a lot! When using the "don't care" sign, do you index first, or just do the sign in the direction of whomever you're signing about?

I definitely need to take an ASL class...as soon as I'm done with college (1 more month!) and can afford it I plan on taking one to help with structure/grammar. I will ask so many questions the instructor will be sick of me immediately! :lol:
 
Depends on the flow of the conversation whether I would index first or after, "He doesn't/don't care." or "Doesn't/don't-care he" . For myself, "I don't care", I tend to sign, "Don't-care I".

I remember my first ASL class, the teacher was teasing me and at one point he used an open curved 5-hand near his behind and moved it outward. I had no idea what he was expressing so asked, "Are you saying I have a big butt?". He laughed hard and explained that he meant I was rich (ie: a wallet in my pocket was very fat/stuck out far). I learned three things that night ... my teacher had a great sense of humour, ASL is indeed very conceptual, and always ask when you don't understand - never just pretend you do (if I had just smiled and nodded and never asked, I would have gone home and complained to my husband that the teacher called me out on being a fat a** LOL ).
 
I have recently seen a sign similar to "selfish" (open-curved 5 hand at chin version) used for the concept of 'hero' or 'protector' (open-curved 5-hand at chin pulled away slowly to 's' hand). Is this familiar to anyone or am I misinterpreting the concept?
 
Journey said:
I have recently seen a sign similar to "selfish" (open-curved 5 hand at chin version) used for the concept of 'hero' or 'protector' (open-curved 5-hand at chin pulled away slowly to 's' hand). Is this familiar to anyone or am I misinterpreting the concept?
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I might be misunderstanding your description but it seems like you're describing PRECIOUS. :dunno:

Sign for PRECIOUS | ASL Sign Language Video Dictionary
 
Nope Reba, I think you got my description pretty well :). Now I will have to go back and rethink what what was expressed using "precious" and see it if all fits/makes sense. Thanks!
 
How would you sign "guarantee"? I'm thinking it would be similar to promise but I'm not sure.

Context example in English: I guarantee you that will hurt.
 
CSign said:
How would you sign "guarantee"? I'm thinking it would be similar to promise but I'm not sure.

Context example in English: I guarantee you that will hurt.
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Your intuition is correct. You would sign it exactly the same as promise in most contexts, including the one that you provided.
 
What would you sign for 'bulwark?' As in 'a mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing...'
This sign language stuff is even more educational than I thought- I am learning so much. For example, I learned I don't know what some of the English words I use all the time actually mean!
 
Grayma said:
What would you sign for 'bulwark?' As in 'a mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing...'
This sign language stuff is even more educational than I thought- I am learning so much. For example, I learned I don't know what some of the English words I use all the time actually mean!
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Defense?
 
Defense is a good one, thanks! I didn't think of that. I tried a 'wall that protects us forever.' My friend seemed okay with it, but I'd like to do better. I did ask her for any ideas, but I don't think she knew for sure what bulwark was any more than I did.
 
Grayma said:
Defense is a good one, thanks! I didn't think of that. I tried a 'wall that protects us forever.' My friend seemed okay with it, but I'd like to do better. I did ask her for any ideas, but I don't think she knew for sure what bulwark was any more than I did.
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It helps if you think of ASL in symbolic terms, not literal English to ASL translation. so, you have a choice, you can either spell out bullwark, which is simpler and faster than "wall that protects us forever" or you can sign "wall of defense".
 
Thanks. I am trying to think symbolically, but I am a very linear thinker so this is hard.
But maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought, because I just remembered that 'wall that protects us forever' was what I signed instead of the line 'bulwark never failing,' not just for the one word bulwark.

I will tell you one way reading all deaf helped me- this I am sure is so obvious to everybody else, but I kept trying to talk and sign at the same (most of my signing right now is either signing hymns or having three way conversations with my new deaf friend and some third party friend of hers at church), and I was feeling so, so stupid. Then I read here that this is not only not normal, it's just about impossible.

I can't tell you how RELIEVED I felt.
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIhQSo9DqgQ]A Mighty Fortress - Christy Nockels- *ASL* - YouTube[/ame]
 
!!! Thanks!! I looked for a youtube video. Don't know how I missed it.
Oops, same title, different song altogether. Still many words are in other hymns, so it's helpful.
Thank-you so much for your time!
 
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On that video at about the 3:10 mark she does a sign with two hands- one raised, one lowered, kind of like an 'ok' shape, they come to meet each other and are linked (sorry, I am very bad at describing things).
Can somebody tell me what that sign is? And I am sorry if I am being a pest.
 
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