The American Sign Language Phrase Book (40 page)

Almost all states are fingerspelled using the standard written abbreviations such as Penn. or PA, ND, and Wyo. States such as Ohio that have short names are spelled out. The few states that have signs that are used throughout the country are shown below:

* Note that NEW YORK and WASHINGTON can signify the state as well as the city.

Almost every city has a sign, or a fingerspelled abbreviation. Often, however, the sign is either not common outside the state or it is the same sign for another city in another state. For example, Berkeley and Boston share the same sign. Therefore, one must inquire of local deaf people how the cities in their state are signed. A few cities do have signs that are used all over the country. New York is one such city, and others are shown on page 248: