Place the tip of your thumb on your cheek. Slide the tip of
the thumb forward and down along the cheek.
Memory tip: Girls used to wear bonnets that they tied under their chin.
[You might want to visit the BOY/GIRL
"tour" page for more information.]
GIRL:
Little-girl: Tip: think of the height of the boy or girl.
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Optional Reading:
In a message dated 2/10/2006 7:32:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, DJ3262
writes:
Hey Dr. Bill,
I got the book Linguistics Of American Sign Language 4th edition. I don't
know whether you have it or not. Very good and interesting. A few things,
though. This book mentions that the sign for girl is repetitive. Where did
they get that from? I couldn't find that in my dictionary or on your
website.
Thanks.
--Douglas
Dear
Douglas,
You will find that many Deaf people sign "GIRL" with a single movement.
It is the same with the sign "BOY." Some people do the sign "BOY" with a
double movement, some do a single movement.
When "GIRL" is signed as part of a compound like "GIRL-FRIEND" you should
certainly use a single movement.
I find that the "double movement" tends to show up more when the sign BOY or
GIRL is being used as a single sign response to a question.
For example:
Signer one: JENNY BORN FINISH? (Did Jenny give birth yet?"
Signer two: GIRL! (double movement).
As you study, keep in mind these two guidelines:
1. There is a great deal of variation out there in the "real world."
2. American Sign Language, like all living languages, is constantly
evolving.
