ASL120 Vocab and Important Terms

Language

A system of relatively arbitrary symbols and grammatical signals that change across time and those members of a community share and use for several purposes: to communicate their ideas, emotions, and intentions, to transmit their culture from generation to generation.

Target Language

A language one hopes to study

Native Language

The language one learned since childhood

Iconic

When the relationship between the form of a symbol and its meaning is clear

Arbitrary

When there is no clear relationship between the form of a symbol and its meaning

Receptive

What you understand

Expressive

How you produce what you understand

Lexical

Vocabulary

Rule of Symmetry

If both hands move, they will have the same hand shape and movement

Rule of Dominance

If each hand has a different shape then the dominant hand moves and the other will have on of the seven unmarked hand shapes

Unmarked Hand Shapes

(Encompassed in the rule of dominance) 5, 8, 1, A, S, O, C

Marked Hand Shapes

K, 7, R, T, E, 8

These shapes occur less often in any signed language… are harder to produce and are learned much later by Deaf babies. Since these shapes are more difficult to perceive they are most likely to occur around the face.

Visual

Information received through the eyes

Idiom

A fixed phrase that consists of more than one word. Its meaning cannot be understood by examining the individual words in the phrase

Primary Parameters

The four building blocks that structure ASL

1. Hand Shape

2. Location

3. Palm Orientation

4. Movement

Secondary Parameters

1. Facial Expression

2. Body Language

Classifiers

A particular hand shape used to represent a noun and can indicate location of that noun and its actions.

Locatives

A way of describing spatial location between two or more

Big D

An individual who has strong connection with the Deaf community

Little d

An individual who has the medical condition of being deaf

How are nouns for noun-verb pairs signed?

Smaller sign

How are verbs for noun-verb pairs signed?

Bigger sign