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Hi there! I am Studyfin, your ASL tutor. Today we will learn how to say hello and introduce ourselves in American Sign Language!
In American Sign Language (ASL), we use our hands, face, and body to talk. To sign 'Hello,' you bring your flat hand up to your forehead and move it out like a polite salute.
When we meet someone, we also share our names. In ASL, we sign 'My' by pressing a flat hand to our chest, then 'Name' by crossing our index and middle fingers twice.
Let us compare how we ask 'What is your name?' in English versus ASL. In English, we put the question word 'what' first. In ASL, we sign 'Your' and 'Name' first, and put the question word 'What' at the very end while lowering our eyebrows!
Imagine you are meeting a new classmate named Sam. Show how you would introduce yourself and ask for their name in the correct ASL order.
- First, wave friendly and sign 'Hello' by raising your flat hand to your temple and moving it slightly out.
- Next, sign 'My' by pressing your open palm flat against your chest.
- Then, sign 'Name' by making 'H' handshapes (index and middle fingers pressed together) on both hands, and tap the fingers of your dominant hand on top of the other hand twice.
- Fingerspell your own name letter by letter.
- Now, ask for their name. Point your flat palm toward your classmate to sign 'Your'.
- Sign 'Name' again by crossing your fingers.
- Finally, hold your hands out with palms up and shake them slightly to sign 'What', while lowering your eyebrows to show it is a question!
