SECOND LESSON.

BASIC HANDSHAPE POSITIONS

 Generally, the most natural orientation of the hand when signing in front of the body is with the fingers pointing diagonally forward and away.

  To write in sign language it is essential to learn the 5 basic positions that the handshape adopts (the handshape is the form that the hand acquires to make the sign) in space and how they are identified.

  Palm orientation describes the position of the palm during the production of a sign.

  The handshape that corresponds to the letter “A” is used in the illustrations, which are drawn from the viewer's perspective. In most cases, the signer's right hand is represented. Example:

The 5 basic handshape positions for Writing Signed Languages, starting with the top one in the drawing, are:

1.   The palm faces outwards. Finger/knuckles point up.

2.   The palm faces inwards towards the signer. Finger/knuckles point diagonally forward and away

3.   The palm faces to the side. Finger/knuckles point outward or away from the signer.

4.   The palm faces outwards. Finger/knuckles point diagonally to one side away from the signer.

5.   The palm faces outwards. Finger/knuckles point down.

   For now we will focus on the first 3 to facilitate understanding; These will be the most used in Writing Signed Languages. The use of the last two will be explained later.

BASIC HANDSHAPE POSITION 1

  When there is no indicator above the letter that represents the  handshape; The hand position is vertical, with the palm facing out. The fingers or knuckles point upward.

  This only changes when followed by a alphabetic character with a different place indicator. Example:

  This combination is very common in Writing Signed Languages; It does not produce any change, it only indicates the difference between the left hand and the right hand. Right hand: 

   It can also indicate the first point of contact for writing the sign language words. Left hand:

Let's see some examples with BASIC HANDSHAPE POSITION 1