From Adam Frost

[Charles Butler]

Adam and list,

Thanks for the posting, Adam.

We struggled in Brazil when we were translating the textbook and choosing handshapes that are used in Libras.  We had several we debated over, and several that do not occur in ASL (at least to my knowledge).

1) Crooked little finger.  This is used in the sign "amante" for "lover".  It's a deliberate variant of friend (with the crooked index finger) to indicate a more intimate relationship.

2) Noiva (Fiance/Fiancee).  This is a variant of the "7" hand.  The thumb touches the middle joint of the ring finger to display the engagement ring.  As far as I know, and my research in ASL has not been that extensive, this variant is not shown in ASL, but exists in Libras.

3) Droga.  This end position for the "7" hand has the ring finger pointed outward.  The thumb flicks the ring finger twice for "drugs".  The beginning position would be the thumb  on top of the ring finger (like the W) to get the mechanics necessary to flick the finger.  I'm not sure how to write either the Noiva or the Droga hand (either closed or open) if one is going to show the difference between the "7" closed hand and the "Droga" closed hand.



Deaf Action Committee <dac at SIGNWRITING.ORG> wrote:
Charles and List.

Generally, there is no difference between the W & 6 and the F & 9
because they are so close, and the difference can be know easily by
context. Most Deaf people won't sign so 'picky' because they feel that
ASL is not a language that truely uses fingerspelling; it is something
to "bridge with the hearing." (I don't mean to put that as an offense
to anyone. That is just how most Deaf feel.) This is why many of the
long-practiced certified interpreters you have asked may not know there
is a difference. To get the information that I received on this issue,
I had asked Cindy Herbst, the head of the Modern Language Department at
Pierce College. (Val, you might know her.) Cindy is CODA and a long
time certified interpreter with high honors. She is one of the few
people that have actually corrected my ASL. Plus, she is the only one
that is not Deaf that has done that. SMILE (This is after I learned ASL
from my Deaf teacher, of course.) If you want any documentations on the
difference, I will ask her if she has any.

Adam

PS Val, thanks for posting that last message for me. Hopefully this one
goes through. *crossed-fingers* ;-)
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