PUCK: The
American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "puck"
Question:
A Deaf player is on my hockey tieam and there is one word that I don't
know how to sign and can't find (other than fingerspelling which is
impractical) and that's the word "puck." I sorta have something I do
each time and tell him ‘this will be our sign for puck' but it's not
ideal. Is there a word for hockey puck?! Can you describe or show me?
It's so stupid – it's a word that never comes up in life unless your
play hockey and then you need it a whole bunch!
Thanks!
- Jack
Response:
Hello Jack!
Since most of us Americans don't know how to have a good time on the ice
-- the trick is to finding examples of "puck" being signed is to check
out newscasts in international sign language regarding hockey.
See "puck" at the 3:53 mark of: https://youtu.be/NTrdl0s83Dg?t=233
That version is using a non-dominant C hand.
Seems to me if you have your gloves off you could do a modified
three-digit horizontal C hand using the index, middle, and thumb
Or just do the horizontal C.
See a bit more advanced version at: 3:13 of this video: https://youtu.be/GLfG5e_SRw0?t=191
Here we see the dominant horizontally held "F" hand functioning as a
classifier representing the puck and the non-dominant palm-down flat
hand depicting the ice-sheet "moving" beneath the puck (when really it
is the puck moving over the ice but we show that by moving the "ground"
in ASL).
Cautions and caveats:
The horizontal F hand can also used to refer to someone as being an
a-r-s-e-hole so just be aware of that little overlap. Actually, the F
hand has lots and lots of uses though and the meaning depends on context
(holes, coins, round things, eyeballs, etc.). In the context of hockey
it can mean "the puck."
I recommend you use the "F" hand version if you are showing the movement
or position of the puck. If you want to discuss the puck itself then use
a C or modified-C hand (and hey, maybe even do it with the non-dominant
hand for extra distinction which is sort of cool since it is a special
case due to pucks being notoriously "acted upon" rather than being "the
actor."
The dominant index finger can be used to represent the "stick" acting
upon the puck.
Notes:
See: HOCKEY
See: ICE SKATE
*
Want to help support ASL University? It's easy:
DONATE (Thanks!)
* Another way to help is to buy something from Dr. Bill's "Bookstore."
* Want even more ASL resources? Visit the "ASL Training Center!" (Subscription
Extension of ASLU)
* Also check out Dr. Bill's channel:
www.youtube.com/billvicars
You can learn American Sign Language (ASL) online at American Sign Language University ™
ASL resources by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars