Fingerspelling Guidelines C6 D35

The American Fingerspelled Alphabet consists of 22 handshapes that--when held in certain positions and/or are produced with certain movements-- represent the 26 letters of the American alphabet.

Fingerspelling is used for a name, places, titles, brands, and when you don’t know the sign for a word. There are many words that do not have corresponding signs in ASL. Go ahead and fingerspell if there is no other convenient way to explain what you are talking about. Here are some tips for accurate fingerspelling:

1. Palm needs to face the person you are talking to.

2. Keep your hand relaxed, to the right of your face (to the left if you are left handed), and below your chin.

3. Avoid saying or mouthing the letters.

4. Try not to bounce your hand as you spell or move your hand far to one side or punch each letter, this can be very distracting. Movement is allowed but try to stay in the FS area.

5. Aim for clarity, not speed. For now, your goal is to make sure you form the letters correctly so people will understand you. Also, allow for a slight pause between words.

6. For words with double letters, move your hand slightly to the right in a slight sliding movement or use the double tap of the repeating letter.

7. The letter “E” can be signed regular or with the shortened 2 finger “E”. The previous letter will determine which “E” can be use when fingerspelling. You can use the 2 finger “E” if it is preceded by the following letters: D, H, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Z.

Practice these words and incorporate the appropriate “E”: Ted, Pet, Vet, Keep, Net, Rest, Meet, Paper

Here are a few strategies to reading/understanding fingerspelling:

1. When reading fingerspelling, make sure you look at the whole word, and not just the individual letters (same as you would reading printed English).

2. Look at the handshapes and movement. This will get you used to seeing words signed faster and faster. Fair warning, at times some deaf people don't even fingerspell all the letters of a word.

Tall Letter: Down letters: P Q

B C D F K L R U V W Side letters: G H

Short letters: Moving letters: J Z

A E I M N O S T X Y

3. Use context clues to help narrow the word choices. E.g. restaurant, fruit, location, etc.

4. Watch for hints on the mouth. At times, the word may be said on the mouth.

5. Finally, use your closure skills to help you “fill in the gap”.

Being able to sign and understand fingerspelling is very important when you are new to sign language and haven't learned a lot of signs.

Q: Which hand do I use?

A: Fingerspell with your dominant hand.

Q: What do I fingerspell?

A: Names, places, titles, brands, for clarification, proper nouns, abbreviations, acronyms, and when there is no sign or you don’t know the sign.

Q: What do I do if it hurts?

A: Make sure you are properly producing the letters and if it still hurts, then adjust so it is a more natural fit for you.