Notes:
In a message dated 10/16/2012 11:37:39 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Dawn Augustyn
writes:
Hi Dr. Vicars,
I am teaching my 15 month old daughter sign language. She is not deaf…I'm
teaching her so she can communicate with us prior to vocalizing her needs. And
it has been very beneficial …she definitely understands how to use the sign for
cracker!
Anyway, I'm writing to ask you about how to sign "start" from the phrase "and
then we start". I am not sure if you are familiar with the TV network "Sprout
TV" but they have an evening show called The Good Night Show. The host, her name
is Nina, recites a poem, "Hush Hush Little Fish" and then she does it in sign
language. I like to do that along with her to show my daughter and I was using
your site to confirm I was doing the signs correctly. All was fine until I tried
to find the word "start". What you show is not what she does.
Here's the poem:
Hush, hush little fish
We are here to make a wish
We close our eyes
And then we start
To make a wish
With all our heart
Nina does the start sign by putting her left hand with her palm facing her
chest. Then her right hand is in front of her left with her palm facing the
front of her left hand. When she says "and then we start", she "pushes" her
right hand forward. I hope this makes sense. Is this another way of saying start
that you are aware of?
Many thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Take care,
Dawn Augustyn
Master Data Analyst
Dawn,
Hello :)
What she is signing is the sign: "FROM-NOW-ON" which is related to the sign for
"PROCEED."
"From now on" can be interpreted as "from then on " or "from this point
forward."
It is also related to the signs, PRIOR-TO-(before), NEXT, and one of the
versions of AFTER.
Thus, her sign choice works very nicely for her poem but would not work well as
a general replacement for the generic START sign for use in everyday
conversation.
Cordially,
Dr. Bill