Did you know...
In American Deaf culture, you must earn a name sign. It is not simply given. When people find out I know American Sign Language, they instantly want to know what the sign is for their name. Of course, I show them how to spell their name in sign ( called fingerspelling), but I can not tell them a sign for their name. A name sign must be given to a hearing person by a Deaf individual. It shows a characteristic of that person, often using the first letter of that person's name.
I got my name sign during my first semester of college by a friend named Craig. My sign is 3 fingers brushed across the chin twice. This name was chosen for me because the sign for cute (2 fingers brushing the chin twice) and the sign for sweet (4 fingers brushed across the chin twice). I am very proud of my sign name and feel fortunate to have received it.
ASL is a fantastic language that I truly believe EVERYONE can benefit from knowing! If you ever have any ASL questions, or would just like to chat, let me know! :) @missy
