Just as there are many different spoken languages, there are also many different sign languages. American Sign Language is the one used in the United States and several other countries. Hundreds of thousands of people communicate using this language. Just like spoken language, sign language can be used to express all kinds of thoughts, not just to name things. Sign language can also be used to talk about actions, feelings, and ideas. One difference between sign language and spoken language is that sign language can express more than one meaning at a time. Spoken language expresses thoughts one word after another, but sign language uses facial expressions and body movements to add additional ideas to the main one expressed by a hand sign. One form of sign language that many people recognize is the manual alphabet, or finger spelling. This type of sign language, however, is used mainly for proper names. It may also be used for unusual or technical vocabulary words. With finger spelling, a word is spelled out letter by letter, using a different hand sign for each letter of the alphabet. You can search online and find charts of the hand positions for the letters of the alphabet and videos that show the signs in more detail. Finger spelling should be done with your dominant hand - your right hand if you are right-handed or your left hand if you are left-handed. For most signs, the palm of the hand should face outward toward the person to whom you are signing. Most letters are signed holding the hand still, but a few like j and z are signed by moving the fingers. Most words in sign language are not spelled out letter by letter. Instead they are expressed by a single sign. As with finger spelling, most words are signed with the dominant hand, palm outward. Some words are signed with both hands. Sign language has parts of speech - nouns, verbs, conjunctions, etc. - just as spoken language does; however, not every word that would be spoken is signed. Little words like the are skipped in sign language. And sometimes, a thought that takes more than one spoken word is expressed all at once in sign language. So even though it takes longer to sign words than to speak them, people who are fluent in sign language can communicate at about the same speed as people who speak. Words or phrases are signed in a number of ways. For example, the sign for shirt is pinching a bit of your shirt between your index finger and thumb and pulling it forward a few times. To sign thank you, begin with the hand flat and the fingers near your lips. Then move your hand forward and down in the direction of the person you are thanking. The word pizza has a number of different signs. One sign for pizza, used in parts of California, is a gesture that looks like putting a slice of pizza into your mouth. Another pizza sign uses the hand shape for the letter p to draw the letter z in the air. There are many dictionaries available for learning signs in various sign languages, both in books and online. With online dictionaries, short videos showing the signs in motion make learning easier. Everyone has a language with which they are most comfortable communicating, a first language. For many people with hearing impairments, sign language is that first language.

Question

Just as there are many different spoken languages, there are also many different sign languages. American Sign Language is the one used in the United States and several other countries. Hundreds of thousands of people communicate using this language. Just like spoken language, sign language can be used to express all kinds of thoughts, not just to name things. Sign language can also be used to talk about actions, feelings, and ideas. One difference between sign language and spoken language is that sign language can express more than one meaning at a time. Spoken language expresses thoughts one word after another, but sign language uses facial expressions and body movements to add additional ideas to the main one expressed by a hand sign. One form of sign language that many people recognize is the manual alphabet, or finger spelling. This type of sign language, however, is used mainly for proper names. It may also be used for unusual or technical vocabulary words. With finger spelling, a word is spelled out letter by letter, using a different hand sign for each letter of the alphabet. You can search online and find charts of the hand positions for the letters of the alphabet and videos that show the signs in more detail. Finger spelling should be done with your dominant hand - your right hand if you are right-handed or your left hand if you are left-handed. For most signs, the palm of the hand should face outward toward the person to whom you are signing. Most letters are signed holding the hand still, but a few like j and z are signed by moving the fingers. Most words in sign language are not spelled out letter by letter. Instead they are expressed by a single sign. As with finger spelling, most words are signed with the dominant hand, palm outward. Some words are signed with both hands. Sign language has parts of speech - nouns, verbs, conjunctions, etc. - just as spoken language does; however, not every word that would be spoken is signed. Little words like the are skipped in sign language. And sometimes, a thought that takes more than one spoken word is expressed all at once in sign language. So even though it takes longer to sign words than to speak them, people who are fluent in sign language can communicate at about the same speed as people who speak. Words or phrases are signed in a number of ways. For example, the sign for shirt is pinching a bit of your shirt between your index finger and thumb and pulling it forward a few times. To sign thank you, begin with the hand flat and the fingers near your lips. Then move your hand forward and down in the direction of the person you are thanking. The word pizza has a number of different signs. One sign for pizza, used in parts of California, is a gesture that looks like putting a slice of pizza into your mouth. Another pizza sign uses the hand shape for the letter p to draw the letter z in the air. There are many dictionaries available for learning signs in various sign languages, both in books and online. With online dictionaries, short videos showing the signs in motion make learning easier. Everyone has a language with which they are most comfortable communicating, a first language. For many people with hearing impairments, sign language is that first language.

1. Finger spelling is used mainly for ______.
A. short words
B. names
C. all nouns
D. all words

2. Finger spelling is done with the ______ hand.
A. right
B. non-dominant
C. left
D. dominant

3. Most letters and words are signed with the palm of the hand facing ______.
A. inward
B. left
C. outward
D. right

4. Unlike spoken languages, sign language can only be used to name objects and for simple commands.
A. true
B. false

5. There is more than one way to say pizza in sign language.
A. true
B. false

6. The sign for thank you is made with a movement of one hand.
A. true
B. false

7. How is sign language like a spoken language?

8. How is sign language different from a spoken language?

Answer 1

Answers: 1. B, 2. D, 3. C, 4. B, 5. A, 6. A, 7. Sign language can be used to express all kinds of thoughts, not just to name things. It also has parts of speech - nouns, verbs, conjunctions, etc. - just as spoken language does. 8. One difference between sign language and spoken language is that sign language can express more than one meaning at a time. Spoken language expresses thoughts one word after another, but sign language uses facial expressions and body movements to add additional ideas to the main one expressed by a hand sign.