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Hi! I'm Studyfin, your ASL tutor. Today, we will learn how to sign family members and see how a simple rule makes them easy to remember!
In American Sign Language, many signs for people are grouped by gender. This makes learning them a fun pattern to spot!
Signs for male family members, like 'father' or 'brother', are signed near the forehead. Think of this as the top half of your face.
Signs for female family members, like 'mother' or 'sister', are signed near the chin. This is the bottom half of your face.
To sign 'father', tap your thumb on your forehead with an open hand. To sign 'mother', tap that same open hand on your chin!
Imagine you want to sign 'grandfather' and 'grandmother'. How would you use the location rules to figure out where these signs start?
- Identify the gender of the person. 'Grandfather' is male, and 'grandmother' is female.
- Recall our location rule. Male signs are made near the forehead. Female signs are made near the chin.
- Apply the rule to Grandfather. Start with your thumb touching your forehead, then bounce your open hand forward in two small arcs.
- Apply the rule to Grandmother. Start with your thumb touching your chin, then bounce your open hand forward in two small arcs.
