Any member of a family of plants with spongy stems and branches that have scales or spines in place of leaves, which are most common in dry environments like deserts.
A sign language, is the middle finger?
Ethan Cook and Peter Wujcik, Deaf ASL tutors at Columbia College Chicago, are the signers in the GIFs below.
There is a non-zero probability that they’ll make the same old joke if I mention that I’m learning American Sign Language “Oh, right? I’m conversant in sign language. [Flips the bird at me.] We both chuckle, and as soon as that happens, our friendship ends. But in all honesty, these guys are completely correct. Simply putting up the middle finger is the linguistic equivalent of showing up to a fight and shooting your weapon into the air when you’re speaking about a language that has spent hundreds of years figuring out how to extract the maximum amount of meaning from every part of a hand.
The middle finger is a gesture rather than a word in English. A gesture is an action, such as a head shake, grunt, or nod, that cannot be used as a component of a longer phrase. You cannot say “Steve, you get the middle finger! The message is always essentially the same: Fuck you. You may give your middle finger all kinds of elaborate pageantry, pretending to peel a banana, scratch your eye, or crank a jack-in-the-box, for instance.
The middle finger is still not a word in ASL, but it is also not strictly a gesture. It is a morpheme, a component of a word. Location, Palm Orientation, Hand Shape, Movement, and Non-Manual Markers are the five main components that give signs in American Sign Language (ASL) their meaning (essentially facial expressions). The middle finger’s iconic meaning in ASL—an erect cock and balls—has been virtually gone, but the gesture’s emotive meaning has been preserved. Therefore, the middle finger serves as the hand form when employed in a sign, but the meaning of that hand shape in context differs greatly depending on the other factors used, allowing for an infinite variety of middle-finger-based oaths and idioms. The examples that follow are just a small sample of that variety and the methods utilized to produce it.
In contrast to how we curse in English, where the back of the hand is pointed in the direction of the offender, ASL has adapted the gesture so that the middle finger is pointed in the direction of the person being cursed at:
This fits into a larger pattern in ASL that uses directional verbs to represent subject-object connections. The idiom is another illustration “Mutual animosity
Here, the two middle fingers represent two individuals who absolutely despise one another.
ASL signs can be made larger and more exaggerated, much as we might emphasize spoken English by speaking louder. The sign in the next sentence roughly translates as “Observe how the signer pulls his middle finger back before slamming it into his other hand, as if getting ready to throw a punch (Fucking stuff.).
In ASL, facial expressions are extremely important. Depending on the non-manual markings that go with it, the same sign may imply completely different things.
In this context, the word is unmistakably positive, as in “Fuck yeah” or “Fuckin’ A. The meaning would be closer to “Aw fuck,” or “Fuck me,” if the exact identical gesture were made with a head shake and a scowl rather than a head nod and pursed lips.
Another option is to use the middle finger in place of the usual hand gesture of a sign that would otherwise be unremarkable. The addition of the middle finger is the only change from the original sign’s position, orientation, and motion. It’s possible to do this for emphasis,
Here is an illustration of a sign that effectively conveys information through the use of directionality and hand shape play.
Overall, ASL is a directer language than English. Swearing in ASL, while always a sign of a more casual register, has the side consequence of not necessarily being profane. To put it another way, it would not always be appropriate for someone interpreting ASL into English to translate a middle finger as a different term “fuck. Even when directed, as in this instance:
Instead of “Fuck that,” a better translation of the phrase might be “I don’t want to do that. It isn’t unusual for kids to utilize this sign in this manner. Although it is improper for formal speech, it is nevertheless not completely off-limits.
Obviously, a lot depends on the context. Depending on the circumstance, this indication:
Although the middle finger has been used for a very long time in America, its original origins are in the Roman Empire. Many people think that Italian immigrants brought the gesture to America initially. This explains quite clearly how the middle finger ended there in ASL as well. Several more coarse gestures from Italian have really been included into ASL, such “the chin flick and the up yours. The now-retro sign for the Willis (previously Sears) Tower in Chicago, however, suggests that the bird as an offensive hand shape entered ASL only a short time after it did so in English.
This is simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to swearing in ASL, as I previously stated. If you have any queries or suggestions…
What does desert mean in sign language?
Dry first, then either make the hand signal for “creating a land area” or just the word “area” to sign desert. Bend both open palms and simultaneously advance them a short distance to symbolize “creating a land area.”
What does Lollipop’s sign look like?
To sign “lollipop,” make a modified ASL letter X sign with your dominant hand, then move it from just above your mouth to just below your chin as though you were giving a lollipop a nice lick.
How is a flower signed?
Hold your fingers and thumb together, as if you were pinching the stem of a flower or as if your hand were a flower bud, to create the sign for flower. Now switch the sides of your nostrils where your pinched fingers are placed. It seems as though you are actually breathing in the flower’s smell.
What does the favorite sign mean?
To indicate favorite, tap your middle finger across your chin. You reach out and tap your chin with an open palm and a middle finger that has been slightly recessed. The same symbol is applied to flavor (sometimes with the finger tapped a little higher on the lips instead of on the chin).
What does the Grow symbol mean?
Learn to sign and progress in ASL (American Sign Language)
What types of things can you watch develop?
- Start by holding one hand in a c-shape at about chest height with the pinky at the bottom, parallel to the floor.
- Connect all the fingertips on the opposite hand and push it up through the c-shaped hand, widening and opening the hand as you go.
- This sign has the appearance of something emerging from the earth and flowering! To help you remember the sign, use this image!
- Early childhood science instruction emphasizes hands-on learning above anything else. What easy-to-grow plants can you grow indoors? Modeling the phrase “Plants require (earth, water, and the sun) to grow!” will help you teach your child all the things a plant needs to grow. Each time, practice the symbol.
- Check out what grows in your community by going outside. Encourage your child to identify several plants by signing the word “grow” for each one.
Translation: Develop! Like a plant emerging from the ground, your hand extends from the other hand. Grow.
What is the sign language for sand?
Sand is signed by making modified letter O signs with both hands, all fingertips pointing up, just as the first half of the sign for ground. Each individual ‘O’ hand’s fingertips should be rubbed together to simulate the sensation of sand between them.
What is Storm’s sign language?
Storm with lightning:
Rainstorm:
a wind-driven downpour
Snowstorm:
noisy!” You will get ten different signatures on this sentence if you ask ten different people.
Sign it. For what it’s worth, this is my take on the phrase:
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What is the ASL symbol for ocean?
Take both hands, palms down, and push them forward while swooping up and down as if they were waves to make the baby sign for ocean. Before signing the ocean waves, you could choose to make the sign for water.
What does the watermelon sign mean?
Simply combine the signs for water and melon to sign watermelon. Hold the “W” hand to your mouth and tap the middle finger of your dominant hand against the closed fist of your non-dominant hand.