Proper Hand and Wrist Positions for American Sign Language

Written by Michele Wheat

What Is American Sign Language?

What Is ASL? ASL, short for American Sign Language, uses hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to communicate.
What Is Sign Language? Signs in a signed language convey meaning and information, not just English words.
About American Sign Language: Deaf individuals who speak English in the U.S. and Canada use American Sign Language.
American Sign Language: What it Is and What Parents Should Know: Hearing parents of deaf children need to learn about ASL and its benefits as a form of communication.
American Sign Language's Past and Present: ASL emerged over time as a unique American language, and it has its own grammar.
American Sign Language (ASL): A Visual-Gestural Language of the Deaf Community of North America: ASL is a visual language that communicates and absorbs information using body language and facial expressions.
What Is American Sign Language: This document created by the North Carolina government outlines the basics of ASL.
American Sign Language: Find out the basics about ASL and how you can learn more here.
Understanding American Sign Language: ASL is not a direct translation of English. Instead, it's entirely its own language, with unique syntax and grammar.
A Historical Overview of American Sign Language: The earliest signed languages emerged in Europe, and French sign language influenced the development of early ASL.

Effective Communication With Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: If you need to communicate with someone who has hearing loss, it's important to do so in a way that's easy for them to understand.
Communication Methods Used by Deaf-Blind Individuals: People who are both deaf and blind have used a variety of different methods to communicate, including tactile sign language, in which they place their hands over the signer's hands to feel the signs.
Early Support for Families of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Communication and Language Services: When a child has hearing loss, it's important to act quickly to help them develop communication skills and take advantage of government programs that can offer assistance.
Communicating With Deaf Individuals: All deaf people, like all hearing people, are different, so it's important to establish what a person's communication needs are in order to communicate with them effectively.

ABC Signs: Explore signs for words that are based on the signs for individual letters of the alphabet.
American Sign Language Quiz: Try this multiple-choice quiz to test your knowledge of ASL signs.
American Sign Language Finger Spelling Game: Watch a word being finger spelled, then guess what the word was. How many can you guess in two minutes?

American Sign Language Dictionary: In this dictionary, users can enter words like "car" or "wristband" into the search box and see video clips that show them how to sign these words.
ASL Dictionary: Type in a word or phrase to see how it's signed.
Common Words Test: Watch the signs and see if you can guess what they're spelling.
Unlocking the Nuances of American Sign Language: Getting your hands and wrists into the right positions is only one part of being able to communicate in ASL.
To Be or ... No, Not to Be: In ASL, the verb "to be" is not used, which alters the structures of sentences.
ASL Practice Guide: ASL can be used by young children before they learn to communicate orally.
World Federation of the Deaf: The WFD advocates for equal rights for people who are deaf.
Discovering Deaf Worlds: This international advocacy organization works to improve accessibility for deaf people.
Seven Critical Things You Should Know About Sign Language: Like with spoken language, there are many different sign languages used all over the world. These languages are very similar to spoken languages in some ways but very different in others.
Learning About Deaf Culture and Community: Hearing-impaired people have their own culture and even slang.
Sign Language Hand Shapes: Learn about words based on different hand shapes using this resource.
Teach Your Child to Read Using Phonics and ASL: Both deaf and hearing children can benefit from using ASL as they learn the basics of language.