What you need to know:
Namesigns are signs that are used as people's names. They are
specific signs that refer to specific people.
For example, my name sign (Bill Vicars) is a "V" tapped on the side of the
head, (palm forward, the side of the index finger makes contact twice).
It was given to me by Boley Seaborn as a "V" tapping on the top of the head,
and later modified "to the side of the head" by Sandra Thrapp, (both Deaf
friends of mine).
In the Deaf world, assigning name signs is generally considered to be the
prerogative of Deaf people. The word prerogative means "an exclusive
right or privilege held by a person or group" (dictionary.com).
Which
is to say, traditionally "Hearing people" should not give themselves name
signs. Instead they should get their name sign from a Deaf person
skilled in ASL and active in the Deaf Community.
This helps insure
that the new name sign doesn't conflict with existing local name signs.
--Dr. Bill Vicars
Discussion notes:
An ASL teacher writes:
Three important things to know about name signs:
1. Name signs are given by a Deaf person. Discuss diff btwn deaf
and Deaf.
In some cases a hearing person has to do the giving of a name sign.
A mainstreamed deaf ed tchr in this instance. But that teacher must
be aware of the rules.
2. Name signs are either arbitrary or descriptive.
3. "Combined" name signs are not acceptable.
-------------------
Question: What's an example of a combined name sign that
breaks the rules?
--------------------
Answer:
(Name on file: explains:)
"A combined name sign is a combination of an initialized sign name
and a description--i.e. someone named Alejandrina with curly long
hair might have the "500" handshape name waving down her head and it
would be fine--she could also have an "A" handshape on the chin and
it would be fine--but making the same down the head movement to show
the waves with an "A" hand shape would breach the ASL rule of name
signing. Basically that is very much a SEEism."
Bill responds by addressing his wife and cc'ing the group:
Hey, Belinda,
You might want to read Richard's explanation and example of the
breaking of a namesign rule.
Seems to me your name sign (one of them anyway) fits
that "broken rule." (A "B" showing your long hair.)
Oh, wait, my namesign is a "V" meaning bald! That is a
combo too. Uh oh, our son, Logan's name sign is an "L" that
means cute. Oh no, Kelsey's name sign is a "K" that shows her
dimple!
Well over half the people I know have "combined" namesigns.
(Initialized/Descriptive).
What am I missing here?
Seems to me that combining an initial and a description is
actually pretty standard.
I hereby coin a new word: "initiaphobia."
The fear of initialized signs.
Initiaphobia is generally spread by Deaf militant prescriptive
ASL teachers.
Heh. (Let's chat in person about this one eh?)
I love you all.
-Bill
Bill,
hahaha, you CRACK me up! You are darn lucky that V, K, and L all are
acceptble to the beholder. They all look like 100% arbitrary name
signs. The whole point is the gut feeling that Deafies have when it
comes to whether the name sign is Deaf-nuff.. Most combo signs looks
AWFUL. True biz. I am pretty much flexible when it comes to ASL,
Deaf culture , and what not. I think you should know it by now. But
too combo-ish, I cringe. For example, President Monson's name
sign... nah, not good. Know?
Nikki
Nikki,
I agree, certain namesigns really "feel" wrong.
Let's set our minds to analyze these things and get to the root of
them and provide examples of "what works" and "what doesn't." We
state clearly: This is the general rule and here are examples of
exceptions. Plus we point out that not everyone agrees. We provide
guidelines of what is "deaf enough." You and I know that Belinda's
old name sign "feels" off, but we need to be able to explain WHY it
feels off.
--Bill
Bill,
There's a general rule with exceptions, true. Most combo signs are
instinctively wrong to a Deaf person. Why? Not because it is combo
or because its initialized, it is because the movement runs counter
to the natural/preferred method. That's why some SEE signs are
accepted and eventually borrowed and some aren't. Its more of the
unnatural movement than merely initiaphobia. Grin.
Nikki
----------------------------------------------------------
"Rule" Combo name signs are not encouraged in Deaf Culture.
Nikki says:
A "combo name sign" is describing a person's physical feature or
personality with a handshape corresponding to the first letter of
person's name.
For example:
Paul "P" as in sign for laugh: the handshape P. On side of the mouth
as if you're signing laugh. (That's combined and a no-no)
Laura "L" as in having long eyelashes: the handshape L in a sweeping
motion near the eye. (Combined)
Bev "B" as in "happy". (Combined)
Instead stick to either descriptive NS WITHOUT the manual alphabet
letter
(Its ok to use bent 5:HS as a name sign for Missy who has curly
hair)
OR
Stick to arbitrary with the first letter of person's name without
meaning (for example- my name sign is the letter N-shake in space in
front of the signer. )
The Deaf is particularly sensitive to combined signs. It'll either
tell them that their language rules are insignificant or
That the person is "hearing minded".
I'm pretty understanding and sympathetic, but I have the
responsibility to educate, know? Ill shut up now. Ha.
N---------------------
Jennifer says:
Thanks for all the examples. useful for me. But strange as I know of
someone with one of those letters plus curly long hair name signs
and I thought some other members of her family were deaf.
I always tell my hearing students that a name sign must be given
by a deaf person so they have to wait until they make deaf
friends to get one. But what if it is given by someone who
doesn't have the gut instincts for following the grammar of
namesigns?
for clarification -- my original name-sign if J as in
art (but looking more like jelly) is a combined no-no,
(It was given to me by my then "not quite immersed in
deaf culture / deaf sweetheart")
It evolved into something more appropriate (as I didn't
like the combined bit, I guess my instincts were right
and had studied a bit from Supalla's name-sign book) but
still cumbersome as hand upright and J with pinky on
hand -- I sort of liked this when I was in the UK as
their sign for J is an index finger tracing J on the
hand (a combo again of ASL pinky J with British format
for J)
Often people in the UK will just use the first letter of
someone's name and mouth their name as a name sign. But
they also use funny English language puns. Like the
sign for HEAT for my deaf colleague Mark Heaton. Or the
sign for NUN for my deaf colleague Nicola Nunn. They do
descriptive ones too like sign for GLASSES for my
colleague who used to wear big glasses. Or PONYTAIL for
a deaf man who used to have a long ponytail and then
they changed it to CUT-OFF-PONYTAIL when he had short
hair!
So ANYWAYS....I think I'll stick with the Schmitz
approved JR loansign type of name sign that Carol Padden
and Tom Humphries used to use to refer to me when I
wasn't in the room during team meetings way back when I
was a grad student.
Ah the strange evolution of my name sign.
-Jennifer R.
Bill Vicars says:
Regarding namesigns:
I'm convinced that there is a wide, wide variety of namesigning
going on. ("Namesigning" means "the assigning of a name sign.")
Namesigning is a moving target. The rules are constantly changing
just as the language of ASL is changing.
"Admiration" is also a moving target, but in general we admire
cleverness. We admire puns. We admire in-depth awareness of
characteristics of ASL that only those immersed in the community
would know.
So we set up "rules" about name signs that reflect those values.
Disdain: We also look down upon shallowness. We do not respect
knowledge that can be gained in two semesters of ASL class or from a
book. We therefore create layers of complexity to discourage
newcomers to the namesigning process and keep the power amongst Deaf
people. Any Level 3 ASL student can look up the word "HAPPY" in a
dictionary and add their initial to it. We don't respect that
because it takes so little "ability" that almost anyone could do
it. If we let ASL students come up with name signs on their own we
lose a portion of our control. So we say, "You can't do that. It
breaks a rule." If EVERY person knew how to do magic tricks,
magicians would not be special.
Thus as a community we use complexity and obfuscation of naming
rules as a form of control, power, and turfism.
--Bill
In a message dated 9/4/2008 4:52:38 P.M. Pacific
Daylight Time, nichola.horrell@..writes:
Hmmm. I have to disagree with you a bit. How can u
explain that natural gut thing I have when seeing a name
sign that breaks the rule? I had that gut ability way
before I discovered name sign rules book by Supalla.
In a message dated 9/4/2008 4:59:31 P.M. Pacific
Daylight Time, jrayman@.edu writes:
in response to an earlier comment, Bill. I think
that the name signs that have a semantic motivation
such as Nikki's example of R on chin for Richard as
her honey -- work fine in the DEAF naming system
because they don't break the linguisitc 'rules' for
naming but HAPPY + initlal does break the rules....
so their are plenty of possible name signs that
might have underlying motivation through some kind
of meaning like V by the head for you cuz you are
bald but it's not V circling the head like the sign
for BALD so it is okay.
i think the gut thing is about
linguistic norms and innate
grammar. but because the deaf
community has lots of latecomers
to the language their are many
people who don't have the gut
feeling like you, and so there
are multiple practices in the
community. -- again the gut
thing is about straight
linguistics from a native user
perspective. bill's comments
about power etc are more about
social practices within the
community and an area for
sociolinguistics. overlapping
but separate areas of analysis.
Jennifer,
That is just the thing though, Nikki was "kidding"
about using an "R" on the chin for Richard. She
wasn't using it as a "good" example, but as a
joke.
You say that "semantically motivated initialized
signs" ("semantic" means "having to do with
meanings") are okay because they don't break
linguistic rules for naming.
Hmmm seems to me that a so-called "semantically
motivated initialized sign" is another way of
saying a "combo sign."
A "combo sign" is an initial combined with a
descriptive meaning.
That is to say, a "combo sign" is an "initial
combined with semantic intent."
And according to Nikki, "combo" signs are "out"
or "uncool."
Nikki, I explain your "gut" thing by connecting
it to the "values thing."
Rules stem from values not the other way
around.
Your values came first (and those of the rest of
us).
Based on those values we all started doing
things a certain way until those "ways" became
common amongst native/high level signers.
At that point the community had two strong
precursors (seeds) for the development of
"rules."
Precursors:
1. Deep seated values based on appreciation of
and respect for the type of signing done by
native ASL users.
2. A recognition that excessive initialization
tends to be used by novice or low level signers.
From those seeds we come up with rules that
people must follow if you want to be in the
"in-group." If they want to be cool.
So this is how it works:
If you want to look cool, you have to do things
in a certain way. The definition of a rule, is
"having to do things in a certain way."
Looking cool is a moving target.
In general, whatever behaviors that are done by
those with higher status in any community are
considered cool.
At one time, knowing a lot of signed English was
actually a source of pride and "coolness" in the
Deaf community because it supposedly indicated
that a person was educated.
Your own parents used to teach "signed English"
for years and years at the college level because
they thought it was the "thing to do" (Caroline
kick me if I'm wrong.) Then they would go home
and revert to more visually effective and
efficient signing styles (ASL-like signing).
Then in the 1980's we saw a huge change and ASL
became the "in thing." We codified it and made
up "rules" to describe what we were seeing, (Stokoe
style) and we are still hashing out and
discovering those rules.
That's what we are doing now!
So you see, I don't disagree with you at all. I
agree totally that "combo signs" are "uncool."
But why? Why are they uncool? Well, I listed a
couple of reasons earlier, (1. Respect for
skilled signing, 2. Disdain for shallowness),
but when it comes down to it, "combo signs" are
uncool because Nikki SAYS SO. Because Nikki
and other highly skilled Deaf SAY SO.
That's how language works.
If Nikki and other "cool" deaf keep saying
"anything" long enough, often enough, it then
becomes cool and a rule is formed.
How long before it is no longer acceptable to
sign "implant" to mean Cochlear Implant and we
all start signing "ci" instead? Well, the
"rule" is changing and forming before our eyes
as more and more "cool" deaf start signing "ci."
Will it catch on? Will the rule become strong?
Will it get put in ASL books?
Only time and usage will tell.
--Bill
You're funny, Bill. Haha. I agree most combo signs are
uncool, not because of the two precursors you proposed--
1. Deep seated values based on appreciation of and respect
for the type of signing done by native ASL users.
2. A recognition that excessive initialization tends to be
used by novice or low level signers.
The number 1 and 2 above are as a result of thr widespread
misuse of namesigning.
I strongly believe there are grammatical rules to name signs
because human brains are programmed to visually effective
and efficient signing.
Most combo signs are laborious and cumbersome or just simple
like the visual representation of
fingernails-on-the-chalkboard effect.
Nikki
Nikki,
Okay now, combine both of our sentences and see that we are
talking about very similar things:
My sentence: ...deep seated values based on appreciation of and
respect for the type of signing done by native ASL users.
Your sentence: ...grammatical rules to name signs because human
brains are programmed to visually effective and efficient
signing.
Combined sentence: ...deep seated values based on appreciation
of and respect for the type of signing done by native ASL users
because it is visually effective and efficient.
I'm not saying that we do it this way just because "you
feel like it."
I'm saying, "We do it this way because you (we) feel like it and
you (we) feel like it because it is high level signing and it is
high level signing because it is efficient and effective."
Complex eh? It takes time and immersion to become efficient and
effective at signing. Thus it is high level.
And I love you all.
--Bill