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light

The concept of "light" has many meanings.  Therefore there are many ways to sign "light."

"LIGHT" or "LIGHTS-ON" This version of light is for "overhead lighting."  
This sign is used in such sentences as:  "Why do Deaf tend to hang out in the kitchen?  Good light."



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NOTE:  If you use a "double motion" with this sign it means "FLASH the LIGHTS."
Flashing the lights is a method of quickly getting the attention of a whole group of people.  Getting attention this way should only be done by people familiar with the Deaf Culture.  Newbies tend to overdue it. (Flash too many times, too quickly, etc.)


LIGHT:  (Version)
LIGHT-emitting-device:  "The light."  "Lights"
The general sign for light uses the dominant hand in an "8" handshape under the chin. With the middle finger cocked on the thumb.  You flick the middle finger of your dominant hand upward twice so that it "thumps" (lightly) each time on the underside of your chin.  This sign can be used in sentences like, "LIGHT BROKE" to mean, "The light bulb is out" if you were talking about an LCD projector or a flashlight. 
Remember, thump the underside of your chin as if thumping a melon. The middle finger and thumb come apart.  Note: the thump is very gentle...you hardly feel it on your chin.
Note: at the beginning of the sign the pad of my thumb is on the fingernail of the middle finger.



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BRIGHT  (illuminated, clear, obvious)
This next version of "light" means "bright (as in well illuminated), obvious, and/or clear (as in both easy to understand and transparent)."

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You could use this version for such things as a table lamp, or perhaps even an "ELMO."  (An ELMO is a type of video projector commonly used in distance education classrooms.)

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This version is used for such things as "headlights."

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LIGHT-MATCH:  "light a match."
To sign "light a match" you'd use this sign:

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rotating/flashing-LIGHTS:
This sign could be used to refer to an ambulance.
If used in reference to other vehicles it specifically refers to flashing lights ("cherries").



LIGHT-WEIGHT:
This sign means "light" as in "doesn't weigh very much.
I also use it to mean "light" as in "light blue."


 



American Sign Language University ™ ASL resources by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars
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