American Sign Language

These are the hand signs one uses to finger spell when a more advanced sign isn't known.

American Sign Language (ASL) has lots of gestures. When first learning how to sign, students will finger spell the words they want to know, and the instructor will show them how to sign them. Finger spelling is also used for names, such as those of places or people.

The font is Gallaudet, by David Rakowski. With this font, a hyphen shows the sign for “10”. One does not sign punctuation with finger spelling.

It’s difficult to show the shape of the hand with two-dimensional drawings. For example, the letter O and the number 0 are the same symbol. The letters G and Q have the same finger positions, but one points down and the other points sideways. The same goes for K and P. D is similar to 1, but the letter D starts with an “O” shape in the hand and then extends the first finger, whereas 1 starts with a closed fist.