The American Sign Language Phrase Book (29 page)

Normally the sign GRANDMOTHER would have been made with the right hand, but since the action of the GIVE sign moves from the signer's right to the signer's left, making the GRANDMOTHER sign with the left hand makes it visually clearer who is on which side. (For further explanation, see the "Placement of Signs" section in
Chapter 2
.)

Note: American Sign Language distinguishes between male and female cousins: the signs are gender-specific. Here, the sign is for a male cousin. For a female cousin, use the same sign handshape but in a different location: the jaw area.

The use of both hands in making the sign helps reinforce visually who is doing what to whom.

The TELL sign moves downward to denote that the person being told is a child. The same thing occurs in the following sentence with the HER sign.

The idea "we had" is understood and therefore not signed.