Hello, my name is Victoria and I teach American Sign Language at TakeLessons.
Today we're going to discuss the different types of classifiers in ASL
such as descriptive and plural. We'll also go over a few examples of how to
use classifiers in your sentences. So keep watching and don't forget to check
out our free online ASL classes. So what are classifiers? In simple terms
classifiers are handshapes. So that could be letter hand shapes or
number hand shapes that we use to represent objects, people, size and shape,
location and movement. So there's various reasons why we use classifiers.
Classifiers are used when we really need to make something visual, so if I want to
describe that the book was thin, we don't have a sign for thin. So I'm going to use
a classifier to show thinness. That's a letter G that I'm using to show
thinness. In this context it's not the letter G.
It's a classifier being used to describe the object that I just mentioned. If I
wanted to say that the school was next to my house I would need to show you
that; I could not say - next to. It has to be a visual. So I would show you - my house is
here - set up with a classifier, point right next to it and say that the school
is there. That's showing you that the school is next to my house. Basically the
point of our classifiers is to show instead of just telling in English word
order. The deaf community prefers when you sign using visual language so that
means you need to paint the picture and that's exactly what classifiers will do
for you.
So there is a big difference between classifiers and other signs in ASL. In
ASL we have signs. They're dedicated signs that mean a specific thing that is
always the case. This always means sign this always means
mom. Those are signs, basically your words. Classifiers are not that way. Here's an
example: this is a number one. Right? On its own that's all it is. It's a number
one. But if I said - me... well now this is me. But this doesn't mean me on its own. Only
when I use it to represent myself. There was a lamp on the desk. Just as an
example. I could say the desk, use a B, but in this context it's gonna represent my
desk and then I have to sign a lamp is on top using a classifier A. So
classifiers are nothing if you don't give them a name. They always have to be
explained beforehand and then used to describe. So on there own they are not
signs; they're just hand shapes, letters and numbers that can change depending on
how you use them. You may wonder is there an English equivalent to classifiers? Not
really. In English we say things exactly in our English word order: word for word
for word. We say things like in, on, under, all those different words which we don't
use in ASL. So again going back to the example of a lamp being on a desk, all I
say is the lamp is on the desk in ASL. My classifiers are there so I can show you
where it is. So the desk -
here - the lamp - on top - showing you. We don't do that in English. We just say it.
So it is a lot different than our English language. So classifiers can be
used for different things: size and shape, the object itself, usage
so the object in motion, and also its relation to something else. Let's go
through a few examples of each. The first one is size and shape. If I
wanted to show you a stop sign for example, there's not an exact sign
for sign as in a stop sign. So I would say stop with my classifier one. I would
kind of outline the shape of a stop sign. Here's another example with size. If I
wanted to say that the stack of papers was thick; there was a huge stack of
papers. I wouldn't say big and we don't have a word for thick. So what we do is
we use the classifier C. So I would say the papers - I would show you that it was
a stack with my classifier B - and I'll show you that it was thick with my
classifier C. So that's how we use classifiers to show size and shape.
Another way is identifying the object itself. This is important if you have to
see its position. So for example if I wanted to say that there is a bed in my
room I would show you my room and say the bed is in there. So I just sign bed,
use a classifier for that. Same thing if I wanted to say that there was a lamp on
the desk. I would show you the desk here and the lamp on top. Another way is to
show the objects in motion, the usage. So if I
wanted to say the car was swerving, well we don't have a sign for swerving, and
how would you explain it without classifiers? You really couldn't so what
we do is we set up car - classifier three - and show the car swerving. If I wanted to
stick with the same classifier and say that it turned right, I could show you
that. All of it's visual so I'm showing you the car or the object in motion and
lastly its relation to something else. If I wanted to show you kind of direction.
So previously we talked about the school next to my house, which again was - my
house is here and right next to it is the school - well I can show you that. You
could even use a combination of the two, so if I wanted to say I passed by my mom.
So I would set up my mom - she's here - my object, me - here - pass by. So not only
did I set them up as the objects themselves but then I showed you the
motion. So those are some key ways that we can use classifiers in ASL. So before
you use a classifier you must give it a name, meaning you have to have it set up,
meaning that you identified the object with its correct sign or fingerspelling.
Whatever it is, the object has to be set up first, then you can go on to show its
movement, its position, its relation to something else, or its size and shape. For
example I can't just say ... and that means I passed by my mom
because this doesn't mean mom, this doesn't mean me. So really that word
picture serves no purpose. You have to show it: my mom - here - me - here. So before I
even set the first classifier up I say it's my mom and before I set myself up
and move it, I identified that it's me. That has to be done every single time
you use classifiers. The most common mistakes when it comes to using classifiers is
just forgetting to identify them beforehand. So you might throw this on
there and that's supposed to mean your desk but that doesn't really mean your
desk. Another common mistake is not using the correct classifier. Perhaps we're
trying to describe a cup on the desk but we use a one or we use an A and none of
those classifiers correctly describe the cup. We should technically be using the C.
So the best advice I can give you is learn all your classifiers. Learn what
they can be used for. Each of them has a specific amount of things and specific
objects that it can represent. They all serve a purpose so learn about those
purposes before incorporating classifiers
into your sentences. Which type of classifiers are your favorite? Leave a
comment and let us know! And if you enjoyed this video consider subscribing
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