"Gloss" is what you call it when you write one language in another.
When you gloss, you are not translating (transliterating) the
language--rather you are attempting to transcribe it (write it down or
represent it in text form) word for word or sign for sign.
When we see someone signing and we write it down or type it out sign
for sign and include various notations to account for the facial and
body grammar that goes with the signs--we are using "ASL GLOSS."
What follows here are some of my notes regarding "glossing."
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"!"
When a sign gloss has an "!" exclamation point after it that means you
should emphasize the sign. Sign it a bit faster, stronger, or more
exaggerated than normal.
"#"
The # symbol, which goes by many names, (number sign, crosshatch
character, pound sign, hash, octothorpe, etc.) is used to indicate the
lexicalization of a fingerspelled word. (For example: #ALL, #WHAT,
#BUSY). When you "lexicalize" a fingerspelled word, you mutate the
spelling so that it is produced more like a sign than a fingerspelled
word.
PRO.1 / PRO.2 / PRO.3
These terms refer to "first person," "second person," and "third person"
pronouns. PRO.1 means "I or me." PRO.2 means "you." PRO.3
means "he, she, him, or her."
For example, the ASL gloss “PRO.3 LOVE PRO.1” is typically translated
as: "He loves me" or "She loves me"-- depending on whether
the subject is a male or female.
QM-wiggle:
The gloss: "qm-w" stands for "question mark wiggle." That is the
process of holding an "x" hand up at the end of a sentence and wiggling
the index finger (flexing it a few times.).