Facial expressions are extremely important in ASL. Questions become questions not through the words signed but rather through the expression on your face as you sign. In terms of asking questions, there are 2 different expressions that differentiate between the 2 types of questions being asked.
The first type of question is a yes/no question. For example, if you're asking "Is she deaf?" you should do the following:
- raise eyebrows
- widen eyes
- lean forward
- hold the last sign in the sentence
The second type of question is a wh-word question, such as "who", "what", "where", etc. For example, if you want to ask "Who is she?" you would need to do the following:
- lower eyebrows
- lean head forward
- hold the last sign in the sentence
If this is a bit hard to picture, not to worry. You will be seeing many examples of this in the videos of the "Key Phrases" section of each unit.
PLEASE READ: About my Blog...
I am an ASL student at Algonquin College in Ottawa. The program uses the "Signing Naturally" textbooks, which are really quite difficult to follow. This is where my desire to create this blog came from. I wanted to create a resource that would act as a supplement to the textbook to fill in the blanks, and maybe just explain things in a different way to hopefully help my fellow students. I also wanted this to be helpful to people who want to learn ASL but who don't have the textbooks, so I have tried to re-explain key things from the text.
If you are a student, the posts have been labeled according to the level of ASL and the unit of the book. If you are not using the book but simply want to go through the posts in order, follow the labels entitled "Post".
I have found that there are many different signs that are used, and they vary from person to person, and from teacher to teacher. So I have included any differences I have learned, but this list is by no means comprehensive. I am sure I am not aware of all of the variations, so I have just posted what I know. Please do not use this site to override anything that you know. I am only just learning and am by no means a pro. That said, I am more than happy to hear any comments or suggestions, so please let me know if I have posted anything that is incorrect, or if you would like me to do something differently. This blog is intended to help you, so if there is a way it could be more helpful, I sincerely want to know!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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