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American Sign Language:  "groom" or "bridesgroom"

 


GROOM:
 

You will be hard pressed to find a widely accepted generally recognized sign for groom
The fact is, it just doesn't come up very often in Deaf conversations.
When Belinda and I got married, I remember my friend Connie Johnston (later Connie Rubery) used the sign "BRIDESMAID" which (was new to me at the time), but is apparently quite well established.  I don't go to weddings all that often, so I'll take Connie's word on it.  I asked my wife how she signed groom and she replied, "I don't know, I don't get married that often." (Heh. Good thing for me eh?)

The fact is,  groom is a word used by Hearing people in voiced conversations.

We Deaf still discuss people getting married, we just don't use the word "groom" much.  For example:

Signer 1: HEY YOU KNOW BOB AND JULIE?  
Signer 2: [head-nod, eyebrows up]
Signer 1: next-MONTH MARRY!
 
Example 2:
Signer 1: HEY YOU KNOW JULIE?  
Signer 2: [head-nod, eyebrows up]
Signer 1: next-MONTH MARRY!
Signer 2: WHO?
Signer 1: BOB!
Signer 2: BOB SMITH!?
Signer 1: YES
Signer 2: MEET HOW?!?
Signer 1: last-YEAR NAD MEETING-[conference] those-2 SAME COMMITTEE.
Signer 2: OH-I-SEE, RIGHT!  those-2 PERFECT ASSOCIATE-["each-other"]
 

So, remember, the word "groom" is generally not used that much in ASL and thus you will not find many Deaf who will instantly know or be able to show you a specific sign for it.  You'll sometimes see it spelled.  If the conversation goes beyond one or two sentences the spelling tends to end up shortened to "G-R-M" rather than actually showing all of the letters. (This is called lexicalization).


If you must have a sign for "groom" (for example, if you are explaining the concept to a group of Deaf students, you could sign  "MALE-WEDDING."  



 


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