Handshape
Encyclopedia
Handshape refers to specific shapes formed with that hand(s) that are used in signed languages and manual communication methods such as American Sign Language
, other international signed languages such as Signed Exact English, Australian Sign Language
and cued speech
among others.
Handshape is the actual shape of the hand used to produce a word. Handshapes are used along with orientation, movement and location (and sometimes hold, and sometimes non-manual markers) to describe a sign. Every sign must have a unique set of handshape, orientation, location and movement.
American Sign Language
uses the American Manual Alphabet for fingerspelling. The AMA contains 23 handshapes (orientation differences allow the formation of 26 letters); there are many more handshapes that are not used in the AMA. In total, there are about 150 handshapes, though not all are commonly used. (J. McDougal, personal communication, September 12, 2006. Interpreted simultaneously by staff interpreter from ASL to English.)
Handshapes from the AMA are referred to by the letter they represent (A-hand, D-hand...), while others are referred to according to their shape (claw, index finger, ILY, bent, flat O, flat C...). Not all handshapes are used with every orientation, movement, or location - there are restrictions. For example, the 5 and F handshapes only make contact with another part of the body through the tip of the thumb, whereas the K and 8 handshapes only make contact through the tip of the middle finger, and the X handshape only with the flexed joint of the index finger. (taken from American Sign Language#Handshape)
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
, other international signed languages such as Signed Exact English, Australian Sign Language
Auslan
Auslan is the sign language of the Australian deaf community. The term Auslan is an acronym of "Australian sign language", coined by Trevor Johnston in the early 1980s, although the language itself is much older...
and cued speech
Cued speech
Cued Speech is a system of communication used with and among deaf or hard of hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system which makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of handshapes in different locations near the mouth , as a supplement to lipreading...
among others.
Handshapes in ASL
American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
uses the American Manual Alphabet for fingerspelling. The AMA contains 23 handshapes (orientation differences allow the formation of 26 letters); there are many more handshapes that are not used in the AMA. In total, there are about 150 handshapes, though not all are commonly used. (J. McDougal, personal communication, September 12, 2006. Interpreted simultaneously by staff interpreter from ASL to English.)
Handshapes from the AMA are referred to by the letter they represent (A-hand, D-hand...), while others are referred to according to their shape (claw, index finger, ILY, bent, flat O, flat C...). Not all handshapes are used with every orientation, movement, or location - there are restrictions. For example, the 5 and F handshapes only make contact with another part of the body through the tip of the thumb, whereas the K and 8 handshapes only make contact through the tip of the middle finger, and the X handshape only with the flexed joint of the index finger. (taken from American Sign Language#Handshape)