
	Intro: Before you begin Step 1: Learn the four parts of a sign Step 2: Learn the manual alphabet Step 3: Learn numbers and number patterns Step 4: Learn some common handshapes Step 5: Use body language and facial expressions Step 6: Learn some simple words






	Decide early on which hand you'll use as your dominant signing hand (perhaps the one you write with), and never switch dominant hands in mid-conversation. Some other types of sign language used in the U.S. include Signing Exact English (SEE), Signed English, Pidgin Sign English (sort of a blend of Signed English and ASL; often used for interpretation between hearing and deaf people), speech reading (also called lip reading) and finger spelling.

2torial 0510 - Step1:
Learn2 Understand Basic American Sign Language (Continued)

Learn the four parts of a sign

The four parts of a sign include handshape, signing area, hand movement and palm position. If any of these change, so does the meaning of the sign.

Handshape: A handshape is the configuration of the hand during a particular sign. For example, many handshapes correspond with manual letters and numbers. So a sign with the same location, movement and palm position can actually mean different things, depending on the handshape. For example, motioning your hand in a circular, palm-in position over your chest area can mean "please" (with an open palm handshape) or "sorry" (with an "a" handshape).

Signing area: The same sign can also mean different things depending on its location. With few exceptions, the signing area itself is generally an imaginary rectangle that is shoulder-width and extends from the top of the head to just below the waist. Most signs are made in the area just below the face, head and neck.

Hand movement and palm position: A sign can mean one thing if the hand is still, and another if it's moved in a certain way. The same goes for which way the palm is facing (in toward yourself, out toward the other person, sideways, up or down).

An example of how these four elements can change things is how the sign for "I love you" can also mean "airplane" or "flying airplane." Each has the same hand position, but "I love you" is when the palm faces outward, "airplane" is when the palm faces downward (parallel to the floor), and "flying airplane" is when the hand faces downward and moves outward and away from the signer.

Step 2