The "GONE" sign can also mean "absent" as in "She is absent from class today." The non-dominant hand starts as a "C" and closes into a flattened "O" handshape as the dominant hand moves downward while changing from a loose 5-handshape into a flattened "O" handshape.
GONE / ABSENT, no longer present, "had it now I don't", it was there, now it isn't,
LEAVE, left from this place, went out from, outside, gone from here...
DEPLETE / RUN-OUT-OF, all gone, used up, out of, etc.
See on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qM1HIRexbA4
This version (with the non-dominant hand palm down) often shows up when signing "out of time."
Animation (DEPLETE)
Of possible interest is the tendency for the "run out of" sign to have two different palm orientations depending on what you are running out of (or what ends up "gone").
If you run out of TIME (time's gone) the "DEPLETE, run-out-of" sign is often (not always -- but often) done palm down.
If you run out of money (the money is gone) the DEPLETE, run-out-of sign is usually done palm up.
DEAD, died, die, gone from the world of the living
There are those who will tell you that if someone dies you "should" sign "DEAD." That however ignores the fact that quite a few Deaf (particularly those who are older) sign things like: "YEAR-past MY MOM GONE" to mean "I lost my mom last year" -- or more bluntly "she died."
English uses euphemisms.
ASL uses euphemisms.
English speakers generally do not run around telling other English speakers "No, you can't say you lost your mom last year. You have to say 'Last year my mom died!'"
Equal rights for ASL signers: We have the right to use euphemisms.
The GONE sign shows up on the hands of some signers (particularly older signers and/or strong bilinguals) as euphemism for "dead" in ASL. ASL interpreters should recognize this use and interpret it correctly. However, (some) ASL purists might bash the use of GONE to mean "dead."
However the sign "LOST / lose / unknown whereabouts" -- is not an ASL euphemism for DEAD.
GONE yes. (Can in context mean "dead.")
LOST no. (Would seem odd or inappropriate if used to mean "dead.")
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