Origins of number signs

R

RedFox

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
1,277
Reaction score
0
Where did the usage of the L hand shape come from for 20-29? For 20, 21 and 23, it is easy to change from L to 0, 1 or 3 quickly so these look a bit different from 24 and 26-29.

I guess that 22 is done with two '2' hand shapes because of it being quicker than 'L2.'

Where did the sign for 25 with the wriggling middle finger come from? I've wondered about the 25 one since preschool.
 
I think it is because of the French origin, which was the origin of ASL when Laurent Clerc came to America to teach signing to the children.

But I'm not 100% sure. :/
 
The sign for 25 is so dadburn confusing! I really don't get it.:roll: For the most part, I really dislike the numbers 20-29. There's just multiple strangeness in those.
 
society's_child said:
The sign for 25 is so dadburn confusing! I really don't get it.:roll: For the most part, I really dislike the numbers 20-29. There's just multiple strangeness in those.
Click to expand...

Want more strangeness? I found a sign for 35 that I did not know about here:

"number" ASL American Sign Language

Now I'm guessing that the signs for 25 and 35 are like that due to a simplification of moving the fingers from L to 5, influenced by how the ring and pinky fingers tend to move together.
 
RedFox said:
Want more strangeness? I found a sign for 35 that I did not know about here:

"number" ASL American Sign Language

Now I'm guessing that the signs for 25 and 35 are like that due to a simplification of moving the fingers from L to 5, influenced by how the ring and pinky fingers tend to move together.
Click to expand...

ASL. You gotta love it. Constantly keeps me guessing. And guessing and guessing...
 
Back
Top