The American Sign Language Phrase Book (12 page)

Do not confuse the use of the TRUE sign as a sign of stress and emphasis with a form of the "to be" verb in English.

The TRUE sign also means
true
,
truly
,
real
,
really
,
sure
,
surely
,
certainly
,
indeed
, and
actually
. When used alone with a questioning expression, the TRUE sign means "Is that so?" or "Are you sure?"

A word stands for a concept or an idea. If someone says "tree," you understand immediately because you have in your mind the concept of tree. The same applies to signs. If the signer signs TREE, the watcher understands it immediately without having to think the word
tree
. In other words, a sign stands for an idea or concept; it does not stand for a word.

When you form statements in ASL, do not try to find a sign for every word in the English statement. Languages do not work that way. (For example, in English one says, "I am hungry," but in Spanish and French one says, "I have hunger." In ASL one says, "I hunger.") First get clearly in mind the ideas you want to communicate, forget the words, and then find the appropriate signs to express the ideas.

Language is made up of utterances or statements. In spoken languages the statements consist of words, but in ASL the statements consist of signs and fingerspelling. There are two kinds of statements, those that ask questions and those that do not ask questions. Let's look at how these statements are formed in ASL.

1. Yes/No Questions.
These are such questions as, "Are you hungry?" and "Do you want to go to the movies?" This type of question
is usually accompanied by the types of head tilts shown on pages 27 and 28 and by raised eyebrows as shown on page 25. The eyebrows are not
always
raised, but generally they are.

2.
Wh-
Sign Questions.
These are the questions that use
who
,
what
,
why
,
where
,
when
,
which
, and
how
, and they require more than a yes/no answer. These questions are also accompanied by one of the head tilts shown on pages 27 and 28 and by lowered eyebrows as shown on page 24. Again, the eyebrows may not always be lowered, but generally they are.

The
wh-
sign may come at the beginning or at the end of a question, or it may appear in both places. If you wish to emphasize a question, place it at the end.

Naturally the signer makes a questioning facial expression when using these
wh-
sign questions.

Do not use a
wh-
sign in statements that do not ask questions. In English, for example, we may make such statements as, "When I say 'frog,' jump!" or "Where there is smoke there is fire." In these statements the
wh-
word does not ask a question; therefore,
wh-
signs are not used. A different way of making the statement is used.

3. Rhetorical Questions (RHQ).
This type of question does not require an answer. For example, "What's in a name?" and "You know why he won't go? I'll tell you why." In English, an RHQ is usually used to set off or emphasize a point, but in ASL it is used much more frequently.