Which way do you sign numbers 21 through 29?

AlleyCat said:
So do many of us. Half the deaf people I know do just the middle finger, the other half does both fingers as you said. I use both myself. I never liked using just the middle finger. My husband was taught to do both fingers in his ASL classes. Maybe his teachers were trying to get away from the "naughtiness" of just the middle finger as well as the rest of us.
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It might be because wigging middle and ring finger is more comfortable/accessible.
I can't wiggle my middle finger without moving my ring finger a bit too.
 
Mountain Man said:
What ASL students are taught and what people actually do in the "wild" are not always the same. :P
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That is true.

In my case, I've been deaf all my life and I've always used the 2 fingers for 25. So it was no surprise when my hearing husband was taught the same in his ASL classes. When you have good ASL teachers they often do adapt to what signs everyone else is using, even if it's not the same as the books and DVDs. Especially if it's regional.
 
Just to defend my teachers, they were either seasoned ASL interpreters or Deaf, so they weren't just going by what was in some book or DVD.
 
AlleyCat said:
...When you have good ASL teachers they often do adapt to what signs everyone else is using, even if it's not the same as the books and DVDs. Especially if it's regional.
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When you have even better teachers, they show you both ways, explain the reason why they are different, and when to use each version.

Interpreters have to be ready with every option. Even if we don't use every version, we need to be able to recognize when someone else does.
 
Mountain Man said:
Just to defend my teachers, they were either seasoned ASL interpreters or Deaf, so they weren't just going by what was in some book or DVD.
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Yes. That is what good teachers do. That was what I was saying. :)
 
Reba said:
Interpreters have to be ready with every option. Even if we don't use every version, we need to be able to recognize when someone else does.
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Then every once in a while you have a boneheaded interpreter who tries to correct the Deaf person.
 
For me:
21: L shaped and bend the thumb twice.
22: V shaped 2, and bounce twice
23: 3 shaped, bend middle finger
25: 5 shaped, bend middle finger
24, 26 to 29: L shaped 2, followed by the number (L4, L6, L7, L8, L9)

V shaped 2 for 23 to 29 are accepted too. When I first learnt ASL numbers, I used the V shaped 2 from 23 to 29.
 
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