Comprehensive Guide to ASL Classifiers and Handshapes
Classifier CL:1
Primary Uses and Representations - Person: Represents a single person, including their location, specific actions, and the manner of those actions. It typically shows the whole body, often in a standing position (e.g., what they did, where they were, how they were moving). - Long, Cylindrical Objects: Represents items such as logs, pencils, etc. It identifies how the object is positioned, its location, and events occurring around it.
Comprehensive Examples - "The woman fell flat on her face." - "She ran that way!" - "She turned around." - "She went one way, he went another." - "The man walked very slowly." - "There were logs all over the road!" - "I like my pencils lined up neatly." - "Power poles lined up down the road." - "I had a stray hair sticking straight up off the top of my head!"
Classifier CL:V or CL:2
Primary Uses and Representations - Eyes: Used to represent the movement and focus of the eyes. Non-Manual Signals (NMS) are critical in this context to convey the expression of the eyes (e.g., shifty looks, wide-eyed surprise, or a dirty look). - The Body as a Whole: Represents a body in specific states, such as floating on water or laying down.
Comprehensive Examples - "She gave me a dirty look." - "I’m watching you like a hawk!" - "I like to look around." - "He keeps looking at me and then looking away!" - "They’re staring at each other." - "I love to float lazily down the river." - "There were bodies everywhere! The HORROR!" - "She was sleeping like an angel." - "I was tossing and turning all night."
Classifier CL:Ι
Primary Uses and Representations - Legs: Specifically focuses on the movement and positioning of legs. - Locomotion: Shows how someone walked, ran, etc. - Specific Actions: Includes tripping, spinning, or dancing.
Comprehensive Examples - "He was walking and tripped." - "I skipped down the stairs." - "I have to constantly step over you guys!" - "The Rockettes!"
Classifier CL:Bent-V
Primary Uses and Representations - Legs and Movement: - Seated people (representing the legs in a seated position). - Knees. - Movement involving sliding, such as using skates or a sled. - Most four-legged animals moving. - Objects: - Arrangement of chairs. - Pulled objects, such as a bow (archery) or wire. - Fangs.
Comprehensive Examples - "He jumped up and down with glee." - "The horse galloped away." - "I swung my legs back and forth in my chair." - "She bounced her knee nervously as she waited." - "We went sledding down a huge hill." - "My ASL class sits in a large U-shape." - "We sit in rows during the SAT." - "He lazily plucked the strings on his bass guitar." - "The snake bit my arm fiercely!"
Classifier CL:3
Primary Uses and Representations - Wheeled Vehicles: Typically used for cars, motorcycles, bicycles, etc. - Descriptive Elements: Shows the direction of motion, speed, and specific location of the vehicle.
Comprehensive Examples - "There were cars parked side by side." - "The bus made several stops." - "We drove down a bumpy road." - "We rode down a winding road." - "The two cars collided." - "The motorcycle swerved so as not to hit the log in the road." - "The school drop off line was so long…"
Classifier CL:4 or CL:Claw-4
Primary Uses and Representations - People: - Groups of people. - A line of people. - A large number of people looking or sitting. - Descriptions: - Patterns such as stripes or plaid. - Hair, with a specific emphasis on curly hair (note: CL:Claw-5 is also used for this). - Objects: - Fences or gates. - Lists. - Running water.
Comprehensive Examples - "Everyone immediately looked at the crying baby." - "I felt like everyone was staring at me." - "The line at Chipotle moved so slowly!" - "She’s wearing a striped shirt." - "The mansion gates swung open slowly." - "My mom’s Thanksgiving grocery list was a mile long." - "My nose has been running all day."
Classifier CL:5
Primary Uses and Representations - Groups: Represents groups of people. - Masses/Crowds: Used for traffic or large crowds (lots of people). - Nature: Represents trees. - Fluids: Represents splatters or spills. - Environment: Used to describe weather conditions.
Comprehensive Examples - "The hallways here are always so crowded!" - "A bunch of people gathered in the gym." - "Trees lined both sides of the road." - "The worm climbed up the tree." - "The monkey swung off a branch of the tree." - "My coffee spilled all over my shirt." - "She dropped her water bottle and it went everywhere!" - "It’s snowing!"
Classifier CL:Claw-5 or CL:Claw-C
Primary Uses and Representations - Infrastructure: Houses and buildings. - Visual Detail: Specific patterns. - Size and Shape: Large objects (fat, swollen items, etc.) and circular things (door knobs, bruises, etc.). - Quantity: Used for sets of items too numerous to count (freckles, stars, audience members, etc.). - Atmospheric/Physical Elements: Smoke, clouds, and spherical objects (balls) being thrown or caught. - Action: Represents the act of raking.
Comprehensive Examples - "I live right next door to my best friend." - "Her dress had a cute swirly pattern." - "She ran into a door frame and had a huge knot on her forehead!" - "He’s got really chubby cheeks." - "I slowly twisted the door knob and opened the door…"
Classifier CL:Flat-B
Primary Uses and Representations - Surfaces: Smooth or flat surfaces such as tables, roads, floors, or shelves. - Mobile Surfaces: Flat surfaces used for transport, like snowboards or skateboards. - Enclosures: Three-dimensional objects like boxes or rooms. - Tools: Represents a broom.
Comprehensive Examples - "I set my cup on the table." - "She gave him a small box." - "I swept up the floor." - "His legs were a little wobbly on the skateboard."
Classifier CL:Curve-B or CL:Bent-B
Primary Uses and Representations - Physical Dimensions: Height measurements. - Containers/Shapes: Bowls and the action of digging. - Extensive Surfaces: Smooth/flat long surfaces, including long tables, deserts, or long roads. - Architectural Features: Corners.
Comprehensive Examples - "She’s so short!" - "I was eating some soup yesterday…" - "The dog dug up her bone." - "That building only has floors." - "My grandparents have a huge dining room table."
Classifier CL:Open-A
Primary Uses and Representations - Location: An object placed in a specific, fixed location. - Relative Positioning: Shows the position of two objects in relation to each other (e.g., far, ahead, behind, above, below, chasing/following, passing, or falling behind). - Repeated Movement: Indicates going back and forth repeatedly.
Comprehensive Examples - "The lamp is on the left side of the table." - "The dog chased the cat." - "For most of the race I was behind my friend, but at the end I ended up passing him and winning!" - "The box is under the bed." - "Everyday I drive back and forth to school."
Classifier CL:C
Primary Uses and Representations - Long Cylindrical Objects: Pipes, caves, tunnels, poles, trees, and branches. - Short Cylindrical Objects: Cups and glasses. - Thickness: Represents thick items like books, wide stripes, or muscular biceps.
Comprehensive Examples - "The tree was wide and tall." - "I sipped my cup of hot chocolate." - "She woke up to a thick layer of snow on Christmas morning!" - "The soldiers wore a thick armband."
Classifier CL:Bent-L or CL:Mod-C
Primary Uses and Representations - Small Round Flat Objects: Items such as discs, clocks, plates, pieces of food, or the moon. - Small Object Dimensions: Used for the height or width of small objects (sized smaller than CL:C but larger than CL:G or CL:I). - Animal/Structural Features: Pincers or round beaks.
Comprehensive Examples - "I separate my plate into sections so my food doesn’t touch." - "The wolf howled at the moon." - "The top of the calendar read ‘April.’" - "The scorpion clicked its pincers menacingly."
Classifier CL:G
Primary Uses and Representations - Dimensions of Small Objects: Represents height or width (smaller than CL:C and CL:Bent-L, but larger than CL:I). - Handling Small Items: Holding things like headphones or eye drops. - Flat and Thin Items: Rulers, picture frames, strips of paper, mustaches, sideburns, or eyebrows. - Biological Features: A bird’s beak or eyelids (actions like blinking, winking, or squinting). - Perspective: Objects going into the distance or arriving from a distance.
Comprehensive Examples - "I put in my airpods so no one would talk to me." - "The cop had a nice thick mustache." - "My cat slowly opened one eye and then closed it again." - "I saw the train pulling into the station."
Classifier CL:F
Primary Uses and Representations - Small, Thin, Round Objects: Buttons, coins, polka dots, pepperoni, watches, etc. - Long Thin Objects: Sticks or pipes. - Gaze: Direction and focus of the eye gaze. - Openings: Small round holes or openings. - Handling/Fine Motor: Holding something small and thin, such as flossing, using a needle and thread, turning a page, or pulling out a hair.
Comprehensive Examples - "She wore a yellow polka dot bikini." - "My dog found a nice stick on the ground." - "There was a BANG, and I whipped my head around to see what caused it." - "The dentist carefully flossed my teeth."
Classifier CL:U or CL:H
Primary Uses and Representations - Thin, Flat Objects: Knives, bacon, noodles, name tags, labels, bandaids, tape, or diving boards. - Actions: Spreading substances like butter or frosting. - Fastening: Attaching small objects such as barrettes, clip-on earrings, or badges.
Comprehensive Examples - "I put peanut butter on one side of my sandwich and marshmallow fluff on the other." - "The little girl had a band-aid across her forehead." - "My brother looked so happy to be presented with his honor roll badge."
Classifier CL:I
Primary Uses and Representations - Minute Dimensions: Height or width of very small objects (the smallest tier: smaller than CL:C, CL:Bent-L, and CL:G). - Linear Items: Wires, cords, and lines, including boundary lines.
Comprehensive Examples - "Harry Potter wears wire-framed glasses." - "She wore one really thin necklace chain." - "I mounted my TV on the wall, but hated looking at the wire hanging off of it."
Classifier CL:Flat-O
Primary Uses and Representations - Facial Expressions: Explicitly used for smiles or frowns. - Communication Actions: Derogatory talking or the action of "shutting up." - Handling Items: Manipulation of thin/flat items like books or paper. - Long-Necked Animals: Giraffes, llamas, geese, swans, dinosaurs, and snakes. - Marine Life: Lobster or crab claws.
Comprehensive Examples - "The little girl pouted and crossed her arms." - "I gave him a letter that announced I was quitting." - "The goose looked around and pecked at the ground some more."
Classifier CL:R
Primary Uses and Representations - Twisted Objects: - Braids. - Tight curls. - Ropes. - Cigars: Represented with fingers pointed out.
Comprehensive Examples - "He wore his hair in cornrows." - "The mob boss had a cigar hanging out of his mouth." - "The little girl had ringlets of curls around her whole head."
Classifier CL:S
Primary Uses and Representations - The Head: Repesenting the head as a unit. - Solid Spherical Objects: Rocks or other solid round items. - Hand Actions: The fist in actions like pulling, cranking, or punching. - Handling: Holding anything by its handle. - Operation: The act of driving. - Sports Equipment: Spherical objects like basketballs, baseballs, or softballs.
Comprehensive Examples - "When I got into a car accident, my head banged against the window." - "She tripped over a rock." - "We lifted weights during practice." - "I had to quickly swerve around the dead animal in the road."
Classifier CL:ILY
Primary Uses and Representations - Modified ILY (Thumb In): Used for horns, tents, or goal posts. - Aviation: Represents an airplane. - Flight Movement: The process of taking off, landing, or general flying.
Comprehensive Examples - "There was turbulence that made the whole plane shake." - "It was a bumpy landing!" - "He kicked the ball through the goalposts."
Classifier CL:Y
Primary Uses and Representations - Animal Features: Cow horns. - Size and Scale: Wide or long objects. It can represent the mouth of a large animal or show the size of items like super high heels. - Long Curved Objects: Items like telephones or tobacco pipes. - Movement: Used for large entities (someone or something large) walking or waddling.
Comprehensive Examples - "The elephant grazed lazily on grass." - "I picked up the phone, but there was no one on the other side…" - "The hippo walked heavily on the grass."