ASL Grammar - Is this correct?

Adam Frost icemandeaf at YAHOO.COM
Mon Jan 30 20:22:48 UTC 2006


Thank you Ingvild for the excellent example. This is exactly what I was talking about when there are other ways (usually considered to be less formal) to ask that same question, "What is your name?" Signing NAME YOU? is also done is ASL with the eyebrows up. And because in all reality it is a yes/no question "Do you have a name?" or better yet "Is there a name for you?", it still doesn't truly break any ASL grammer rules. ;-) I don't know about in NTS, but in ASL when a native user is asked this, they will give a short nod to mean yes (it is so short that it can be missed easily) and then will give their name.
The reason the sentence Val had written was wrong was because of the signing WHAT while having the eyebrows up making a whole different meaning.
Thanks you again, Ingvild. (And I bet that wasn't even your intentions. :-P)
Adam

-----Original Message-----
From: "Ingvild Roald" <iroald at HOTMAIL.COM>
Date: 01/30/06 11:52 AM
To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
Subject: RE: [sw-l] ASL Grammar - Is this correct?

The deaf persons who gave me this response are the ones who teach NTS at the 
university college - and I was reading my writing to them, so they got the 
eybrows from there. They say that it is just this one 'wh-' quesstion, whis 
would be glossed *name you?*, that should have the brows up. All other such 
questions, like *name he?* (who is that? what's his name?) should have the 
brows down. -Which means that I would just be consiered as one who followed  
the gramatical rules a bit too rigorously, and could not be considered a 
native signer, even if it was 'perfect'

Ingvild

ps: as for the lessons, I just gave a comment ot you in another message. I 
feel very tired just now, am off my good medications in order to be ill 
enough for the doctor to prescribe them to me, so I am behind in things. 
Besides, I had to move office *and* move almost everything in my appartment 
because they were changing all the windows anfd creating quite a mess. Will 
be back.

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