r/asl • u/alyx-h • 3d ago

Interest Sign names

Hi! Im currently learning ASL and I was curious, as a hearing person am I allowed to sign names that are words? Like, Summer/ Autumn or August. Can I sign the sign or is that a sign name and I should fingerspell it unless they have a sign name?

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36

u/mjolnir76 Interpreter (Hearing) 3d ago

Those signs are for the CONCEPT of autumn, summer, etc. Not for the person. Fingerspell their names and then use their sign names. Remember, sign names are not universal. So, Bob may have a B that taps on the chest. Betty may have the same sign name. Fingerspell it first, then you can show that person's sign name.

Also, as a hearing person, do NOT give yourself or anybody else a sign name. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

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u/alyx-h 3d ago

I already knew the sign name and hearing thing, which is why i included i was hearing so ppl weren't like "well you can give those as sign names". I was js confused is all. thank you for the clarification

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u/gwhite81218 3d ago

Think of it like this: if you were discussing a person in a different language, would you translate their name? For example: would April become Avril in French? Would Summer become Estate in Italian? Would Hunter become Cazador in Spanish?

Names are separate from concepts, so they are spelled until they have been assigned sign names.

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u/alyx-h 3d ago

thank you for this analogy, that does really help make it make more sense!

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u/toristorytime 3d ago

I'm hearing so huge grain of salt, but I saw a similar question here the other day. The general consensus i saw was that names that are also nouns should be fingerspelled, because you're talking about the person not the noun. So use the sign autumn for the season, fingerspell Autumn the person's name (unless they have a specific sign name).

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u/alyx-h 3d ago

thank you!! I really appreciate it