This cheat sheet covers ASL fingerspelling, common everyday signs, and basic signing etiquette for students learning to communicate visually. It helps students connect handshapes, palm orientation, location, and movement to clear meaning. A quick reference is useful because ASL signs must be seen, placed, and moved accurately, not just memorized as English words.
Key Facts
- Fingerspelling uses the ASL manual alphabet, with one handshape for each letter from A to Z.
- Most right-handed signers fingerspell with the right hand, and most left-handed signers fingerspell with the left hand.
- Keep fingerspelling at about shoulder or chest height so the receiver can see the handshape clearly.
- Use steady rhythm when fingerspelling, because clear pacing is more important than speed.
- Many common ASL signs combine four parts: handshape, location, movement, and palm orientation.
- Facial expression is part of ASL grammar, so questions, emotions, and emphasis should match the meaning being signed.
- For yes or no questions, raise the eyebrows and lean slightly forward while signing the question.
- For wh-questions such as who, what, where, when, why, or how, lower the eyebrows while signing the question.
Vocabulary
- Fingerspelling
- Fingerspelling is using ASL handshapes to spell names, places, or words letter by letter.
- Manual alphabet
- The manual alphabet is the set of ASL handshapes that represent the letters A through Z.
- Handshape
- Handshape is the form your hand makes while producing a sign.
- Palm orientation
- Palm orientation is the direction your palm faces during a sign.
- Movement
- Movement is the path, motion, or repeated action used to complete a sign.
- Signing space
- Signing space is the area in front of the body where signs are usually produced and understood.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Bouncing every letter while fingerspelling, which makes the word harder to read because the receiver must track unnecessary movement.
- Switching hands in the middle of a word, which can confuse the viewer because fingerspelling should stay on one dominant hand.
- Looking at your own hand instead of the person you are signing to, which weakens visual communication and makes turn-taking harder.
- Ignoring facial expression, which is wrong because ASL grammar uses the face to show questions, emotion, and emphasis.
- Signing too low or too close to the body, which makes handshapes and movement harder to see clearly.
Practice Questions
- 1 If you fingerspell your first name and it has 6 letters, how many handshapes do you need to produce?
- 2 A student practices 8 common signs each day for 5 days. How many total sign repetitions does the student complete if each sign is practiced once per day?
- 3 Fingerspell three classroom words, then identify which letters were hardest to form clearly.
- 4 Why is facial expression important in ASL even when the handshape and movement are correct?