Fingerspelling in American Sign Language Carol A. Padden University of California, San Diego October 2009

Questions How is fingerspelling used in ASL? Is fingerspelling English? How should we teach fingerspelling in ASL classes? What should interpreters know about fingerspelling? Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Fingerspelling is older than ASL Fingerspelling first appeared in a book believed to be the first book on deaf education Published by Juan Pablo Bonet, a hearing tutor of deaf children in Spain In 1620 Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

From Spain to the US Jacob Pereire, an oral teacher from Spain brought the one-handed alphabet to Paris where Abbe de l’Epee adopted it for use in his school Laurent Clerc brought fingerspelling with him to the US, and used it in the first school for deaf children, founded 1817 Fingerspelling spread to other schools for the deaf Fingerspelling was carved on a crypt at the South Carolina School for the Deaf – in 1861 Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Tombstone of Newton P. Walker, Superintendent of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, 1861 Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

‘Heaven’

Fingerspelling is not always English Compare: – A place where you buy nails, hammer, garden objects? H-A-R-D-W-A-R-E STORE – Computers require software and… HARD + W-A-R-E – Pick up a person A pickup truck – A good workout Did it work out okay? Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

ASL uses fingerspelling more extensively than other sign languages Compared to other sign languages, ASL uses fingerspelling alot! We fingerspell city names, names of Presidents, brand names, company names, automobile makes and many other words. Other sign languages translate these names into signs Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Fingerspelling is mostly nouns Some adjectives and prepositions Very few verbs Examples of fingerspelled nouns: – flour, pizza, campus, sports, passport, cab, sidewalk, studio, base, ballet, safety, tunnel, facility, lodge, inch, yard Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Examples of fingerspelled adjectives: – manual, okay, invisible, diplomatic, jobless, remote, academic, gorgeous, busy, punk, muscular, wide, dark, overnight Examples of fingerspelled verbs: – do, allow, chunking, tiptoe, proofread, try, would, be, miss, own, is, retire, was, being Often the same fingerspelled verb is used many times – do, would, was Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

We use fingerspelling even if we already have a sign Some fingerspelled words are used even though there are signs for them: – C-A-R – L-O-V-E (noun only?) – L-I-F-E – R-E-N-T (“monthly rent”) Compare: – RENT vs. R-E-N-T – FREE vs. F-R-E-E Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Fingerspelling is used by deaf people of all ages and backgrounds Even signers with high school education use fingerspelling The difference is which words they fingerspell, not in the amount of fingerspelling Older deaf people fingerspell different words than younger deaf people, making their fingerspelling more noticeable (e.g. week, glad, man) Men and women are similar in how much they fingerspell. Maybe men fingerspell different words than women. (e.g. MY S-O-N) Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

ASL has fingerspelled/sign compounds Softball – But: snowball, paintball, eyeball? deadline, timeline – But: the New York skyline? the water is falling – But: Niagara Falls, waterfall? Blackboard – But: blackmail, blacklist, blackball? Blackberry – But: BlackBerry? rolling down the hill – But: bread rolls, payroll? Paycheck – But: payroll? Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

ASL abbreviations are not always the same as English abbreviations M-I-N-N, M-D, M-I-C-H, M-O – But Maine? V-W, M-B, B-M-W H-P, M-A-C Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Fingerspelling cannot be separated from ASL Long history of fingerspelling in schools for the deaf in U.S. Many deaf leaders supported fingerspelling as defense against oralism ASL tends to use fingerspelling for new vocabulary Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

New fingerspelled words are always being added in ASL How should fingerspelling be taught in ASL classes? – Can be a separate lesson – Or can be integrated as a part of ASL vocabulary How should fingerspelling be taught to interpreting students? – Are sign/fingerspelling compounds too difficult for new interpreting students? – What about fingerspelling for interpreted performances on stage? Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009

Resources Groode, Joyce. Fingerspelling: Expressive & receptive fluency. San Diego, CA: DawnSignPress Mendoza, Liz. ABC-123: Fingerspelling and numbers in American sign language. Alexandria, VA: RID Press Padden, C. (2006). Learning fingerspelling twice: Young signing children's acquisition of fingerspelling. (Marschark M., Schick B., Spencer P., Eds.). Advances in Sign Language Development by Deaf Children. Padden, C. & Clark, D. (2003). How the alphabet came to be used in a sign language. Sign Language Studies. 4(1), Padden, C., & Brentari, D. (2001). A lexicon with multiple origins: Native and foreign vocabulary in American Sign Language. (Brentari, D., Ed.). Foreign Vocabulary in Sign Languages: A Cross-Linguistic Investigation of Word Formation. – Padden articles can be found at Carol A. Padden - ASLTA/October 2009