Words in Hand

Hello. You remember Martin in the last tape was talking about things like 'holding'. You remember the injection, how you held it and squeezed, and he was talking about the dog and how you carried it. Now I'm going to try and explain with examples.

Think of how you explain to a deaf person, like 'I'm going to hand something over' but it's very thin and small, so can you see how I'm holding it and holding it with my right hand with just the index finger and the thumb? I'm holding it that way, so if a deaf person is talking about a card, they're showing it in this way, and you can see the shape in the way I'm holding the card, like this (signs). Now another thing, like something that's thin, but it's a little bit thicker. They're matches. 'Can I have a match?' There's the striking side and people don't think 'Can I have a match?' (signs) That has no meaning, because you're holding the box in the wrong way. The right hand is right but the left hand is wrong. That shows that you can't light a match in that way, you have to hold it in that way so you can see how I'm holding it.

What about paper? The size of paper? If it's small, I've already mentioned the small card, but what about something that's large? Right, I've unrolled the paper and I would say that I don't roll it in this way because of the way the paper's rolled. If I say 'Rolling paper' (you can) you'll ponder about which way? But you can see how (it's) actually the paper's unrolled. If I gave it to a deaf person and I wanted to show them what was on the paper, I would hand it over in this way, and you can see that I'm holding it in two corners and you can see the shape of the paper. For example, it's not held like this (signs), if it's held like that (signs), then that would mean that it was big and heavy.

So you can see that the paper is shown like this and the card is shown like this, and that there are thin things with this handshape. What about other things, like writing? Writing on the blackboard? Writing on paper? You can see how my hand is created. Some people think 'Writing like this' (signs)but you can't. Now you're holding something, can you write like this? No. Some people hold things differently, yes, but most hold it like this. There's the white chalk and the blackboard, so I'm writing on the blackboard, because if I wrote like that, then that would mean the chalk is pointing down. You have to show the actual angle, that it is pointing that way so that you can write, but if you wrote like that, that would mean that it would be something large, so you only need the index finger and the thumb.

What's this? I'm holding it and holding it in this way, right, I could say, I could do that or this, or even this, but if I said to a deaf person, or hearing person I want to do this. What, what is this? ah it's a video tape. So if I'm talking about a book, this book, it's the same meaning as putting something in like that. So, imagine, 'Will you put it away? Put the book away?' So there I'm showing how the handshape and where the book is actually placed in the hand.

Can you remember, I was talking about the video tape? How would you sign something like a spray, a fly spray, underarm spray, deodorant spray? You can see the action I'm using. We hold it tight and spray. I have nothing in my mind, I've got to have something, and I (can) realise from the way that I actually hold the actual can, and the way that I push the top button, but as time moves on the handshape gets more and more comfortable, so that it does close, but the actual action shows me the direction of the spray. With a fly spray I'm moving it around.

What's this? Yeah ,of course it's a pepper mill. 'Could you please have that? 'Ah, yes my handkerchief is wet, I've got to squeeze it out', because that looks like squeezing, but this, you don't actually do it in that way because the top is small and you have to grasp it in this way, so that's how you know it's a pepper mill. So my handshapes are different and I know it's a pepper mill. What about another sign for that pepper, or salt, brown sauce? Some say sauce or you say 'Brown sauce please' but notice that my handshape is bigger than the salt, which is much smaller, but the sauce and the action is larger.

It's Fairy Liquid, there's water and you want to squeeze it. You could say that (signs), or that (signs) but remember, the brown source, or the tomato sauce, but this, you wouldn't actually do it in that way, right? Because you have to squeeze at the same time. So how can you sign that? You can show the movement and the squeezing at the same time. If you squeeze it that way you'll know that the liquid will come out through the top.

You remember, I mentioned about the thin card? Well, what's this? Okay, you're holding something, a mug, or a cup, a big mug, or glass for beer for example, and you're holding the cup. You don't have to... like now I'm trying to hold it. I've got to hold it in this way, but most people have tea like that, but I'm holding the saucer. So there, there's the saucer and there's the cup (signs). If I have tea that way, that means the cup would be in this direction and you'll be pouring it, so you have to do it in that way. So remember the way that the hand is created and the angle of the hand. If you are eating things, an apple? You can hold the apple... ahh some hold it that way and that way, so that's right. An orange and you peel it and then you take off the skin because it's round, so you pull out, pull off the skin and eat the segment, so it's the right way to hold the apple. 'I want to eat'. 'What would you want to eat?' 'I want to eat an apple.' So the handshape is right. Okay what's that? It's a clothes peg. Okay, how do you sign that? Okay? But whereabouts? You have it that way, that way or that way? You know that you hang clothes on the line and you peg. You hold your clothes and you know that the peg is pointing downwards, but it's even (more) clearer if you actually make your finger the line and then peg it. You could be clipping anything if it was shown in air, so you have to be more precise, it's not for paper it's not a paper clip, it's the washing line.

What's this? Yeah. It's a nail brush and look how I'm holding it and you can want your fingers, fingernails to shine, so you're brushing along the fingernails, but you're actually holding it so you can show how you're brushing your fingernails. And the same, with shoes, you can brush your shoes. There's the foot and the shoe and you hold your brush. It's not the same as this (signs) you're not holding it in the same way, you're holding it in a different way because it's a wooden brush and then you can brush that way. You don't brush that way (signs), because that would be the back of the Brush.

What about an iron? You iron (signs) or iron (signs) hmm... I'm not sure about that because I want to show the flat handshape showing the heat of the base of the iron and there's the handle (signs), so you're showing it, but it also shows the base of the iron as you're ironing. That looks right, you're holding it in exactly the same position.

How would you use this? There's the handle, what would you do? Right, okay. You'd hold it that way. There's the handle and you'd pour so that the water, or whatever, would come out of the jug properly, so if you're pouring a teapot and you pour (signs). If you're drinking something, it's a small glass compared with this one. Compare the two glasses. This is a different shape, you can see that and you know what it is. It's a brandy class and you know the way that people hold a brandy glass, ahh... so you can actually see the actual handshape used to hold the brandy glass. But what about this one? Could I hold it this way, do I have to? No, I'm not comfortable, try to hold it this way, but you know it's smaller, so the movement is smaller so you would drink it in that way because it's a small glass. If it was a long glass, a long, tall glass, then obviously the hand would be further away to give you that information, so you could drink it that way. Smaller one, small motion and movement, large one further away and a bigger movement.

Remember I mentioned about the piece of paper? I'm looking at this, it's not thick, it's thin, it's square. You can see how I'm turning the pages. Should I turn it like this? No, because it's too thin, so I'm turning the pages individually, to show you how thin the paper is. Look at the handshape again, and I'm not turning in that way, because the paper would be then pointing that way, so it has to be held in this way, so that I'm showing how I'm turning the pages.

What about the Yellow Pages, the thick heavy book? It's very heavy and thick and different from the pamphlet. I want to pass it over and I receive it, and I can see by my handshape the size of the book. I feel that I need a thicker handshape, or I can use this handshape (signs), it's quicker to show how I can turn the pages. And if you're reading it, is that the right way to read it? Yellow Pages? It belongs to the telephone directories. No, you've got to look at it in this way, so you look down the columns, so you hold the book and you'll look down the columns and then you turn it in that way.