Sign Language: Two-Handed Fingerspelling

Fingerspelling is the manual representation of orthography, where different hand configurations are used to represent letters of the alphabet. It is an integral part of Deaf community and used to fill lexical gaps in a sign language. It is commonly used by signers to introduce spoken language words for which there is no sign equivalent; to spell proper nouns, person names, and place names; to represent abbreviations; to explain a new concept; for emphasis or clarification; and in teaching or learning sign language.

The use of fingerspelling varies from individual to individual depending on age, educational background, geographical region, knowledge of English, and personal preference. Older Deaf people use fingerspelling more than do younger signers. People in northern England and Scotland fingerspell more than those in southern England. Fingerspelling is also subject to change with time and place.

There are many different manual alphabets, most of which are one-handed and some of which are two-handed. American Sign Language (ASL), French Sign Language (LSF), and German Sign Language (DGS), among others, use a one-handed manual alphabet. Sign languages of the BANZSL (British, Australian, and New Zealand Sign Language) family, a term coined by Johnston and Schembri in 2002, employ a two-handed manual alphabet where each letter of the English alphabet is represented by configurations of the two hands (the only exception is the letter C, which is one-handed; see Figure 1). The earliest form of the BANZSL alphabet is derived from an alphabet published in the anonymous pamphlet Digita Lingua in 1698. This alphabet has been used in British Sign Language (BSL) and Auslan (Australian Sign Language) since the 19th century and in the New Zealand Sign Language since the 1970s. Sign languages used in the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, and Nepal) also use a two-handed fingerspelling derived from the BANZSL alphabet. It is mostly used by urban and literate signers.

Figure 1 Two-Handed Fingerspelling of the BANZSL (British, Australian, and New Zealand Sign Language) Family

Source: Sharma, S. (2014). Handedness and cerebral lateralization: Looking at signing, fingerspelling and gesture skills in Deaf signers and signers with stroke in British Sign Language (BSL). Doctoral dissertation, University College London (UCL).

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Figure 2 Two-Handed Fingerspelling in Turkish Sign Language (TİD)

Source: Kubus, O. (2008). An analysis of Turkish Sign Language (TİD) phonology and morphology. Unpublished master’s thesis, Middle East Technical University.

Turkish Sign Language (TİD) is also a two-handed system but is slightly different from BANZSL and comprises 29 manual letter signs corresponding to the Turkish alphabet (see Figure 2).

Signs may be made with the left or right hand as the dominant hand. In fingerspelling, too, this consistency is maintained. In one-handed manual alphabets, only the dominant hand is used. Within two-handed manual alphabets such as the British one, letters can be formed asymmetrically or symmetrically; in asymmetric forms, the dominant hand is the active articulator with the nondominant hand serving as a location.

The two-handed alphabet is articulated in neutral signing space in front of the body, as opposed to the one-handed alphabet, which is articulated in a specific spot within the neutral space. In BSL, the vowels A, E, I, O, and U are formed by touching each of the fingertips starting from the thumb. The letter C is the only one-handed letter. The letters B, F, G, L, M, N, R, S, and W are visually motivated and correspond to the shape of the English letters. The two hands make the shape of the letters C, D, J, K, P, Q, T, V, X, and Y. Only two letters, H and J, have an additional movement to the handshape.

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