Signing Savvy, Your Sign Language Resource

I am often asked "I can't find the sign for....." And it will be words like FINALIZATION or SUMMARIZATION. My answer is often...."It is there." You may not get a result when you search for FINALIZATION, but that does not mean you are out of luck.

Unlike the spelling in the English language where one spelling is equal to one word, sign language is different. There are many signs that can mean more than one word. We have tried to connect any of the signs on our site with the English words they can represent, but this is not always possible or practical (as there are hundreds of thousands of potential word variations).

If you are having trouble finding the way to sign a certain word, think about what the true basic meaning of the word is, then, like using a thesaurus, look up words that could be interchanged with the word you are looking for without drastically changing the meaning.

Examples

An example: FINALIZATION - Think of the meaning you are looking for....How are you using the word? Is it that you want to FINISH? Or would the word LAST work better for you? Be sure to use the word that will be the most conceptually correct in the context that you are using the word.

A second example: SUMMARIZATION - We do have the word SUMMARIZE so maybe that will work for you. If not that sign, what about to SHORTEN, or to make SMALLER. I have seen both of those signs also used for SUMMARIZATION.

Conclusion

The biggest misconception is that there is one sign for one word and when translating from English to ASL, you must do a direct and exact translation. This is not the case. I think it is very interesting to watch five different interpreters signing the same exact story. I can pretty much guarantee that there will be variations. That is fine as long as the general concepts of the story are all there and clear to the client.

In summary, my advice when signing (and using the Signing Savvy site) is to think like a thesaurus and focus on the core concept or meaning of what is being signed and not get hung up on the exact English words you are translating.