Hey signers, did you know that there are ways in sign language to organize information just
like bullet points? In this video I'm going to teach you techniques to make your signing
clear and your thoughts organized. If you are looking for a channel that not only
teaches ASL signs, but also how to truly grow your ASL skills,
then hit that subscribe button. We have a variety of videos covering ASL vocabulary,
grammar, techniques, and even quizzes, so let's learn how to sign organizing techniques.
Alright, let's talk about how we organize our thoughts in sign language. There are
specifically three different ways to do this. We have listing and ordering, shoulder shifting,
and spatial organization. First is listing and ordering. The purpose of this is to show
a list, like bullet points. So you're going to be using your non-dominant hand
as your list. It can be two things you're listing, three, four, or five. If your number gets higher
than that of the list that you're wanting to talk about, you can then point down below or
switch to your other hand and go down. So let's look at some examples, so that way
you can practice listing and ordering. Let's look at a family. In my family there are four people,
so I'm going to bring up the '4-hand' right here on my non-dominant hand, then I'm going to
describe the people in my family. So, I could point and then sign who it is. My husband,
me, my daughter, my son. Each time I point and then I sign what it is
that I'm referencing to right there. So I can then go even further when describing about my family
in describing things about them, just like this. My family, my husband, me, my daughter,
my son.
I point back to my husband and I can say he's smart.
Sweet. Who is it? It's my daughter.
Silly. I pointed to who? My son, that he's silly. You could go even further with this
with pointing and describing things about their age or their description.
So whenever you have things that require a list, you can use your listing and ordering techniques.
Next let's talk about shoulder shifting. Shoulder shifting is where your shoulders shift
and this is used in comparing, contrasting, and separating.
With comparing, contrasting, and separating, let's think of those conjunction words like and, but,
and, or. You're going to say something that you like something but don't like this or
blue and yellow make green. As you can see, I'm moving my shoulders. For example, you can
ask the question do you like hamburgers or hot dogs? Well, you would sign...'you like hamburger
hot dog which' and right there this, this with the which is showing between these two things,
which one do you like, hamburgers or hot dogs? As you can see in these examples,
it's not needed to use the sign and or or which isn't in sign language itself.
With the word but there is the sign 'but' and you would just add it to this 'but' this, showing
the difference between those two. Here's an example. You could sign, 'I wake up late but I'm
tired still.' As you can see, I use that shoulder shift with the sign but to show between those two.
Okay, let's move on to spatial organization. The purpose of this is to divide events.
Think of when we use the English word then. In ASL it's not signed very often because, you can
use it in spatial organization. For example, we could use, 'every afternoon I work out,
cook dinner,
wash the dishes. As you can see, I divided my events in these three categories. You can do this
up to five and then after that it gets a little muddled. You can also do this by dividing the
time, as in a certain day you do this, a certain day you do this, and a certain day you do this
and I'll show that in just a second. Now let's put this to practice in some sentences. At the
grocery store you need to buy apples, bread, and eggs. 'Grocery store buy apples, bread, eggs.'
I liked the book but I didn't like the movie. 'Book I like but movie didn't like I.'
On Mondays I work out, on Wednesdays I go to church, and every Friday I relax.
'Every Monday I work out every Wednesday church I go every Friday relax I.'
Isn't it great to learn something new? Let us know in the comments if you want more grammar videos
like this. Also don't forget to like and subscribe and until next time keep learning how to sign 🤟🏼