The Manual Alphabet

Aa Bb Cc Thumb up, other fingers against Thumb lines up with index or All of the fingers are curved, palm palm middle finger. faces out

Dd Ee Ff Thumb touches middle finger. Thumb under index and middle Thumb and index finger touch, Index up. finger others up and apart.

Gg Hh Ii Palm faces you, index and Palm faces you, thumb, index Pinky finger up, thumb rest on thumb horizontal and middle finger horizontal index finger.

Jj Kk Ll Pinky finger up (i), and the Index up, middle finger out, Index finger up and thumb out, “I”moves down, in, and curves thumb on inside knuckle of forming an imaginary “L” up. middle finger

Mm Nn Oo Index, middle and ring finger Index and middle drape over All fingers curved with the tips of over thumb. Thumb on pinky thumb, and thumb on knuckle the index and thumb touching. knuckle of the ring finger.

Pp Qq Rr Similar to “K”, but the palm Similar to G, but the palm Index in front of middle finger. faces down, with the middle faces down. Thumb rest on knuckle of ring finger pointing to the floor. finger

Ss Tt Uu Fingers clinched in a “fist,” Thumb juts up, between index Index and middle finger up and with thumb on the knuckles of and middle finger. Index together, thumb on knuckle of index and middle finger curves over thumb. ring finger

Vv Ww Xx Index and middle finger up Index, middle and ring fingers The fingers clinched in a fist, and apart, thumb on knuckle up and apart, thumb resting on index finger up and bent, like a of ring finger the pinky nail “hook,” and thumb on the knuckles of index and middle finger.

Yy Zz Pinky and thumb juts out, with index, middle The index finger points out. The middle, ring and ring fingers against palm. and pinky fingers curl against palm, and thumb on the knuckle of the middle finger. Draw a “Z” with the index finger. Hand moves out, down, and out again. DO’S AND DON’TS OF FINGERSPELLING

About Fingerspelling: • Your goal is to be READABLE. • Don’t worry about being the fastest fingerspeller in the world. In fact, don’t worry about speed at all. • Focus instead on being CLEAR. This Do’s and Don’ts will help you do that.

Placement (location): • Hold it at a comfortable height, around the shoulder range. • If you’re using your shoulder to raise your arm, you’re working too hard. • Your forearm should not be totally vertical, but somewhat slanted. • Keep your wrist straight. A bent wrist is a sore wrist.

Palm Orientation: • You want to speak to the reader. If your palm is facing inward, you are essentially fingerspelling to yourself. Talk to ME.  • If your palm faces in, I can’t see your letters. Palm out. • For a majority of the letters, the palm faces out (towards the reader) at a comfortable 340° angle.

Exceptions to this rule:

• “G” and “H” - the palm faces you • “P” and “Q” - the palm faces down

Movement: • When fingerspelling, keep your hand still. • Your hand should not “bounce” up and down or “jab” forward. The movement makes it hard to read your fingerspelling. Imagine trying to read a book with the letters jumping all over the place. • Don’t twist your wrist to change the palm orientation of your letters. For example, if you fingerspell L-I-S-A, don’t sign it like this: L (palm forward), I (palm to the side), S (palm forward), A (palm to the side) Very disconcerting. • No need to move to the right (if right handed) to fingerspell an entire word. It's not wrong, but it's not needed. If you want to place an index finger at your wrist as a reminder to remain stationary (or a hand on your elbow), that’s fine.

Movement (cont’d): • Never, ever, EVER fingerspell to the left (if you're right handed) or the right (if you're left handed. That is - towards the center of your body. • If you are fingerspelling two words, you can pause in between words or IF you must, then move slightly to the right (if right handed) or left, if left handed. • Don’t worry about mistakes. You don’t have to erase the imaginary board. • Personally, I think it’s hilarious when students do that. Relax. It’s okay • Remember what I said about speed? Don’t worry about it.

Movement for Double Letters: • If the double letters are in the middle of the word, use a double movement. For example, if I fingerspell the name B-E-T-T-Y, my “T” will stay in place and the only finger that moves up and down is the index finger. That thumb doesn’t’ move when signing the two different T’s. Try it. If your name is A-N-N-A, just jog the index and middle finger twice. The same goes for “M” in EMMA. What about “S” as in TESSA? Jog the thumb twice. See how that works? • If the double letters are at the end of the word, you can use slight outward sliding movement – but don’t go wild. • Double Z = bent “V” i.e. JAZZ, PIZZA, FIZZY

Handshape • Be aware of the thumb and where it’s placement: A, E, O, S, M, N, T, and X • Watch out for similarities: O, E - A, S - N, M, T - K, P • Commonly confused: D, F • Tuck your pinky finger in (over the index finger)when you sign the letter I, so as not confuse the reader. Otherwise, it looks like a “Y.” • Make your handshape clear and distinct. If you are uncertain, it will show on your hands. If you’re unsure of your letters, then your fingers will “blur.” Instead, they will “hover,” not quite forming the correct shape, leaving the letter incomplete. • Try to get your fingertips of your index, middle, and pinky finger to touch your thumb, or as close as you can, when you sign the letter “E.”

Apostrophes and Hyphenated Names • To do an apostrophe, just draw a comma with your index finger • To draw a hyphen, draw a line with your index finger. • Word of caution: most Deaf people don’t include the apostrophe and hyphen in normal everyday conversation. They’ll do it, when it MATTERS. Such as fingerspelling for the DMV, marriage license, etc. Legal stuff.

Mouthing • If you mouth, then mouth word as you fingerspell. • Don’t mouth each letter of word. I already know my letters. • The ONLY times it’s okay to mouth each letter is if: • you’re signing the alphabet • you’re trying to teach someone how to SPELL a word, letter by letter. • you’re signing an acronym: FBI, NASA, etc

Practice, Practice Practice!

Expressive (you signing): • Do practice fingerspelling every chance you get. Spell the license plates, the street names, the things you hear, the billboard signs. Fingerspell everything. Get your fingers limber. • Get to the point where you do not have think where to put your thumb. • The reason why fingerspelling is harder to read than sign is that are 26 letters to the alphabet and a zillion ways to rearrange them. Become very familiar with the letters so that you don’t even have think where your thumb goes. • Don’t hurt yourself. If you pains you to form a letter, you're probably doing it wrong. • If it pains you to form a letter because of a disability, stop that! Make accommodations. No one is going to judge you. If your ring finger is crooked when you sign a “W,” let it be crooked. If you can’t place the thumb all the over under the middle finger for “M,” because your thumb is too short, then position the index, middle and ring finger up a little bit to make it more clear, and to differentiate between M and N. You make slight changes. The Deaf community is comprised of people from ALL walks of life, of people with multiple disabilities. Trust me, it’s okay. • Receptive (you reading the fingerspelling): • Practice your fingerspelling reading skills at http://www.asl.ms// Start off slow with two letter words and increase the speed until you’re up to 6-7 letter words at Deaf speed. It takes time. Practice, practice, practice. • Don’t stress about catching ever letter in a word. Most people misspell words anyway. Feel free to guess. In fact, I encourage that. Think of it as a game of hangman. Try to catch the first letter, something from the middle and the end and guess the rest. Perfectly okay. I do it all the time, and I’m native Deaf. • Focus on the context of the conversation. If the conversation centers around Spring Break, and the person signed A _ R _ L, the chances are that word is APRIL. • If a person fingerspells too fast, ask them to slow down and repeat. • If you are asking a person to fingerspell more than 4-5 times, that can mean two things: The person is bad at fingerspelling or that you’re bad at reading. If it’s the latter, go back and practice so more. You’ll get it.