Fingerspelling

Fingerspelling in British Sign Language.

Fingerspelling is making an alphabet with your hands. Many deaf people learn fingerspelling. They use it when they want to sign a word but there is no sign in the sign language, or when they do not understand what the sign means. Other people also use fingerspelling to talk in secret, to help remember something, or to talk without making sound (for example in a church).

Fingerspelling is a part of some sign languages. Writing systems are not the same everywhere, and fingerspelling is also different. Different countries have different ways of fingerspelling. Some alphabets use one hand, some use two hands.

Fingerspelling Media

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  American manual alphabet, as used in American Sign Language

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  Relationships between the manual alphabets of sign languages, expressed as a phylogenetic network

• Dutch manual alphabet

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  Ukrainian manual alphabet

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  British Sign Language uses a two-handed alphabet.

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  Lengua de Signos (Juan Pablo Bonet, 1620) A

Other websites

• ASL Fingerspelling Resource Site Free online fingerspelling lessons, quizzes, and activities.
• Fingerspell Flashcards Practice ASL, German and Swiss German alphabets online.
• British Sign Language Fingerspelling Alphabet Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Information and pictures about the British 2-handed fingerspelling alphabet.
• ASL Alphabet Image and Video Examples Archived 2024-04-20 at the Wayback Machine View a sample of each letter of the English alphabet in American Sign Language