DISCUSSION:
Sandy: How are "name signs" established?
DrVicars: Name signs are somewhat like "Indian names." You may
have seen the movie,
"Dances with Wolves?"
Sandy: :-)
DrVicars: The hero in the movie got that name because he was playing around
in a field with a wolf. We Deaf will sometimes assign you a name based on
something you do or a physical characteristic you have. Or you might get an
arbitrary name sign like the first letter of your name tapped on your chin
or some other location.
Remember, your "Hearing" standards of culture don't apply
here. Deaf will sometimes give a name sign to someone with a facial scar--that
points out the fact that the person has a scar. This would be rude in Hearing culture because it calls attention to a physical
"defect" but to us Deaf it is obvious and effective. Don't think
we are
rude because of it. To us it is normal. After all, the person knows he has a scar.
In a message dated 5/8/2004 8:56:45 AM Pacific Daylight Time, RobertCMazur
writes:
Hi Bill,
Found the NAME SIGNS section in the library. If I'm reading the article
correctly, name signs are equivalent to monikers that we use like "SLIM" for a
skinny person. They can also be mis-monikers, so that a fat person could be
called "SLIM."
However, my name is Robert, and if there isn't an acceptable ASL fingerspell
short form, or handsign, then I'll have to spell it in full. My family and
friends all call me Robert. I've never been given a "pet" or "nick" name. When
I asked about this, they'd all say that I "looked" like a "Robert," and that
nothing else seemed right to call me by. Go figure!
In the radio amateur (Ham) world, my international callsign is VA3ROM. Any
other Ham in the world would instantly know that I'm from Ontario, Canada and
would simply call me R-O-M, and not use my given name at all. My friend
Steven, VE3DP, would be called D-P (or DELTA-PAPA. 3-letter suffices aren't
sounded phonetically after the initial name/callsign introductions.) Since,
most of my friends are Hams, and I've been R-O-M for so long, that's become my
monicker, or radio NAME SIGN. Even my callsign is just my initials, which was
assigned at the issuing office. Guess the radio inspector thought that I
"looked" like an R-O-M!
Now, if I stepped into the culturally Deaf world, I would have to accept and
respect its history and traditions, just as I have in the radio world. But,
even though I may be given a NAME SIGN, flattering or otherwise, by new Deaf
friends, I would probably never use the NAME SIGN, especially if I didn't like
it, just ROBERT#. Unless they also happened to be Deaf Hams. Then we would
just NAME SIGN to each other's callsign prefixes!
Hopefully, I'm not being overly prickly or sensitive, or misunderstanding the
concept of NAME SIGNS, and talking through my hat on this issue. My wife
always called me Robert, she said that nothing else seemed to fit. Go figure!
Regards,
Robert
P.S. I know that you a very busy. Don't feel obligated to reply to my rant.
I'll be butting heads on on this issue locally in a while, and probably get
the NAME SIGN of "STUBBORN" if I'm lucky, and "DONKEY" if I'm not. LOL.
Robert,
Allow me to bestow upon you your first ASL namesign:
Tap the tip of an "R" handshape twice on the side of your head
just above your ear. But you should not use that name sign until you
have checked with the local Deaf in your area to make sure
that doesn't conflict with any existing name signs.
Bill
[Updated September 2010]
Belinda, my wife, received her "first" namesign from her
hearing teacher at the Kern County Deaf Day Program. The namesign
was a "B" on the chin. The other Deaf kids teased her about it for a
couple of years because it was similar to the sign for b_tch. Then in fifth grade
she went to Deaf camp where one of the Deaf teachers upon seeing the "b on
the chin" namesign remarked that maybe her namesign should be a "B" on the
nose for being full of sh_t.
[Note: The teacher was not seriously planning on giving that as the name
sign, he was simply commenting on the inappropriateness of the original name
sign.]
Belinda (a child at the time) decided then and there to change her name to a "B moving downward at
the side of the head" -- representing her long hair (at the time).
Then later when she got older others in the Deaf community began using an arbitrary namesign
for her consisting
of a the first letter of her name tapped to the side of the chin.
--Bill
In a message dated 7/18/2006 12:06:32 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
spreetster@ writes:
I have a question regarding name signs. I am a hearing teacher of 7 hearing
students who have significant developmental disabilities. They are all
nonverbal, and my main goal was to find a system of communication for them.
We tried PECS and communication boards all year with no results, and finally
found success using signs. Naturally, I'm excited about this and plan to
expand the signing in the coming school year. We are in a small, rural
county with no Deaf community whatsoever...I don't know of anyone who
signs. Here's my question: I know you can't assign yourself a name sign,
nor can a hearing person assign a name sign, but in my situation, doing a
limited number of simple signs with my students, can I? I feel like the
children need a way to refer to each other, and a way to express their own
identity.
Sincerely,
Amanda Bock
Amanda Bock
5541 Merle Avenue, Columbus, GA, 31909
LK Moss Primary School
Special Education Teacher,
Early Intervention
Focus: Early Intervention for students
ages 3+ with significant developmental delays.
Amanda,
There is a very real danger of a fledgling signer handing out name signs of
an embarrassing or offensive nature. For example, you might have a student
named Paul who always smells things. You might think it is a good idea to
sign the letter "P" on the nose to indicate Paul. That would be very
inappropriate since that particular sign happens to be one of the signs for
"P_NIS." That is one of the reasons why in the Deaf community we have that
"rule" regarding getting your name sign from a Deaf person.
While it is "best" to have a Deaf person (who is very familiar with ASL)
assign some namesigns to you and your students for classroom use. We are
talking about the
creation of "temporary" name signs until you are able to have a Deaf person
(or at least a highly skilled local interpreter with strong ties to the
local Deaf community check them out).
For now you may wish
to tap the initial of their first names just below the non-dominant
shoulder (generally the "upper left hand area of the chest") or the
forearm which are relatively safe areas. And then at the first
chance you get, ask a Deaf person to review your sign choices and
either approve them or suggest new ones.
Cordially,
Bill
In a message dated 7/18/2006 3:28:25 PM Pacific Daylight Time, spreetster@
writes:
Bill, thank you for a very insightful answer. I hadn't thought of that. I
guess I should have, after reading the story of your wife's name sign! Just
to let you know, the initials are L, D, S, T, K, M, and then there's another
T. I'll do all under the shoulder, except one T will be on the left
forearm. If any of those have another meaning, will you let me know? Thank
you for your consideration!
Amanda
Amanda,
The L hand on the upper left chest could be interpreted as LAZY if it is
palm back. If you make contact with the tip of the thumb (palm down) it
wouldn't mean anything.
Some people "might" try to claim a "D" means detective, and an "M" means
missionary or morals. But those two signs tend to use a small rotational
movement rather than a double tap.
Bill
In a message dated 12/31/2006 10:48:29 PM Pacific Standard Time, an ASL Hero writes:
The deaf folks in south Texas use both [arbitrary and descriptive name signs] some only the strictly basic,
initial on the chest. Others had very interesting stories behind their signs--from hearing moms, in most
cases, occasionally not. [In most cases the] reason for the descriptive name sign was from unique behaviour,
whereas another kid in the family had a completely [arbitrary] initialized signed name. It made me think of
the native American Indians, and how some kids were named later [according] to their personality after it
blossomed, or after a name was earned in adulthood (not entirely the same principle, of course).
Lizzy,
Terrific information about the Native Americans. Wonderful comparison.
- Bill
In a message dated 6/9/2004 12:56:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
Don G.
writes: A name sign is supposed to
be given to you, and only by a Deaf person, although in some cases, it can
be and has been from CODAs. ...It is typically indicative that one has been
accepted into the Deaf community by Deaf people, although I have noticed
that the younger generation seems to be getting them by younger deaf people
who I would say don't really understand the rules for naming or when to
name, but the hearing kids insist on keeping their name sign since they
think that since the person was deaf, it is therefore theirs to keep.
I have heard it said that name signs given by Hearing people are often
"wrong" in that the Hearing people don't know the "rules" for name signs.
for example, I have heard that the Initialized sign-"Hair" combination is
one of those sign names that violates the name signs "rules". Another
example I know of, there is a boy at CSDF named Tyler whose name sign is
"T-Y" or maybe "T-L" or "T-R" on the chest (it might be one of the latter
two-- I remember when my wife mentioned that sign name I was startled at the
strangeness of the sign name) that was given to him by his former public
school classroom teacher (Hearing). It didn't conform to the rules -- if it
was T+ last initial, that would be ok, but to take two letters from the
first name, especially since the letters chosen were phonically based, just
looked wrong. Look up Sam Supalla's Book of Name Signs. He describes the
rules for naming in there, and gives acceptable combinations. I'm sure he
missed a few, but for the most part it gibes.
I used to give name signs to my students who came into my ASL 3 class,
figuring they had continued their education far enough into ASL that they
deserved one, but this became time consuming and hard to think of really
good name signs for them, so I discontinued that practice.
As for me, I never really had a name sign. When I was in MSSD, some of the
kids tried to give me name signs that were either as a joke or somewhat
insulting -- dealing with my religion or relating to physical features
(glasses, nose) that I didn't want emphasized as my name sign. So I never
accepted any of these. Nothing ever stuck. When I was in Gally, in my
Fraternity we had 3 or 4 Dons (I can only remember 3, but that is still
enough...) so we would mention them by their name and last initial.
...
One of my friends at Gally had a good name sign story. His parents are Deaf
also, and they would go to the Deaf Club. His father had a name sign with I
think B on the chin for "Bailey" (their last name). When it was time to go,
they would go looking for their son Bruce, who had disappeared off into some
dark recesses with his friends. So the parents would go looking for their
son, and ask the other Deafies there where their son was. The word would go
around asking "WHERE BAILEY SON?". Soon enough, BAILEY SON became
compounded and assimilated into the single sign name B-in elbow, and that is
the name sign he has to this day.
--Don G.
In a message dated 1/2/2007 7:56:30 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
jdarling@ writes:
This note is in reply to your name signs [discussion]. I am the
child of Deaf parents (only child) and culturally deaf, yet no
one ever gave me a namesign. When I started working with deaf
children in the schools, they gave me a name sign. Curious.
Dear jdarling,
Makes me wonder if your first name is very short. Sometimes it is
just as fast and easy to spell a person's name as it is to give them a
namesign.
My name, B-I-L-L spells very quickly and is often used instead of my
namesign (a "V" to the side of the head).
--Bill
In a message dated 1/3/2007 4:16:06 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
JDARLING@ writes:
Yes, my name is Jean, so I guess you could be right. To tell
you the
truth, I guess it really doesn't matter. I have many deaf
friends, some
I've known all my life and others I've met over the years and it
really
was never that important. Jean
In a message dated 08/08/11 19:59:48 Pacific Daylight Time, noahmats@
writes:
Hi Dr. Bill,
I was just wondering if you could put up name signs on
lifeprint.com. I would really want to know my own name sign in
ASL. And you stated that we can email you our concerns about the
website. Thank you!!
- Noaa
Noaa,
There is not "one" specific name sign for all people named Noaa. You
should meet and interact with local Deaf people and then
eventually one of them will assign you a name sign.
Cordially,
-- Bill
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