The American Sign Language Phrase Book (13 page)

4. Negative Questions.
These are questions such as "Don't you understand?" or "Why didn't you tell me?" Ask them the same way you would a yes/no or a
wh-
sign question, but put in some form of negation. Usually you just shake your head as you ask the question, but you may add a sign of negation as well.

1. Simple Statements.
These are called "simple" because they are signed exactly the way they are spoken in English. Some examples are "I know you," "You tell me," "He loves you," "She likes movies." They have what is called the subject-verb-object arrangement.

2. Complex Statements.
These are called "complex" because they involve two objects and are
not
signed exactly the way they are spoken in English. In the statement "You give me the book," the subject is "you," the first object is "me," and the second object is "book."

More explanation about how to make these complex statements is given in the next section, "Stringing the Signs Together."

3. Commands or Requests.
The command tells someone to do something. Some examples are "Shut the door!" "Get out of here!" "Keep off the grass!" Generally speaking the signs are made vigorously and are accompanied by a frown (lowered eyebrows).

The request differs from the command only in that it is followed by the sign PLEASE and there is no frown. Some examples are "Bring me a cup of coffee, please," "Turn off the lights, please."

4. Exclamatory Statements.
These statements express a strong reaction to something. Some examples are "What!" (surprise), "Ouch!" (pain), "Yahoo!" (elation), "Far out!" (admiration). As in English, these statements usually consist of only one sign in ASL.

The fascinating part of any language is learning how to put the words together correctly to make a statement. The way words are strung together is the syntax of a language. Except for simple statements, commands, requests, and exclamatory statements, ASL differs considerably from English in syntax.

First, we need to deal with the concept of topicalization, which means that a statement begins with a topic. The topic may be a person, a thing, an action, or an event. In the example used earlier, "You give me the book," the topic is
the book
. If we topicalize this statement in English, it comes out "The book, you give it to me." Although there is nothing wrong with saying it this way, it sounds awkward to our ears because we are not used to topicalizing in English. The statement "Do you see the woman in the red hat?" if topicalized, comes out "The woman in the red hat, do you see her?" The topic here is
the woman
, a person. "I enjoy going for long walks" comes out "Going for long walks, I enjoy them." Here the topic is
going for long walks
, an activity. "It was a long and difficult test" comes out "The test, it was long and difficult." The topic is
the test
, an event.

The topic of a statement is always followed by the comment. In the above examples, the comments are
you give it to me
,
in the red hat
,
I enjoy them
, and
it was long and difficult
.

To topicalize a statement in ASL, you must first identify the topic and the comment. Because this is something you are not used to doing, it may appear difficult, but with practice it becomes easier. Topic-comment statements fall into one of several categories, which makes them easier to identify. Let's look at these categories.

1. Descriptive Statements.
In these statements the topic is described and the description is the comment. An example is "I bought a new, red car." The topic is
car
, the comment is
new
,
red
,
I bought
. In ASL, the color of an object usually takes precedence over other qualities,
so the comment would be
red, new, I bought
. The signed statement comes out CAR RED NEW BUY ME. (We will talk more later about the pronoun
me
coming after the verb
buy
.)

In the statement "I really enjoyed living in that big old house," the topic is
house
and the comment is
big, old, I really enjoyed living there
. In ASL, the size of an object generally comes first, and the emotional reaction comes last (more about this later, too). The statement is signed HOUSE BIG OLD LIVE THERE ENJOY ME TRUE.