Learn Sign Language Free: ASL 1 – Unit 10 Sample

In this unit sample as you learn sign language free, you will learn more classifiers.

Conversation 1.6

Read this outline, and then watch the conversation in action in the video below. Try to recognize what is being said. Watch the video again until you can follow the conversation without the outline.

A: SEE THERE WOMAN BROWN HAIR-short THERE, FRECKLES HER?
“Do you see that woman over there with the short brown hair and freckles?”

B: (HER SEE HER)aff).
“Yes I see her.”

A: THAT MY BOSS SHE.
“She’s my boss.”

B: TRUE? SHE DEAF?
“Really? Is she deaf?”

A: NO, SHE HEARING.
“No, she’s hearing.”

B: TWO-of-you GET-ALONG?
“Do you two get along?”

A: SO-SO. SOMETIMES SHE NICE, SOMETIMES SHE MEAN.
“Sort of. Sometimes she’s nice, but sometimes she’s mean.”

B: OH-I-SEE.
“Oh I see.”

Conversation 1.6 Explained

A: SEE THERE WOMAN BROWN HAIR-short THERE, FRECKLES HER?
“Do you see that woman over there with the short brown hair and freckles?”

This sentence is an example of how to identify people in ASL. You will learn more about identifying people in our full course.

B: (HER SEE HER)aff).
“Yes I see her.”

This is an affirmative statement. Even though signer B does not sign the word YES, you know that she sees the woman because she is nodding her head for the affirmative statement.

And because the woman was set up in the signing space using indexing (behind signer B to the right), signer A and B will now refer to her by pointing to that same place during the conversation. This is reflected in the glossing of the remainder of the conversation using HER/SHE instead of THERE.

B: TRUE? SHE DEAF?
“Really? Is she deaf?”

In contrast to the conversation in Unit 3, signer B signs “TRUE?” to mean, “Really?”

B: TWO-of-you GET-ALONG?
“Do you two get along?”

Signer B uses indexing here with the pronoun TWO-of-you to refer to signer A and their boss using one sign.

A: SO-SO. SOMETIMES SHE NICE, SOMETIMES SHE MEAN.
“Sort of. Sometimes she’s nice, but sometimes she’s mean.”

B: OH-I-SEE.
“Oh I see.”

OH-I-SEE is a common sign in ASL and used frequently in conversations to show that you are listening (active listening).

Classifiers Lesson (CL:4, CL:5)

Classifier CL:4 Examples

Classifiers are a very broad part of ASL, so we are covering and demonstrating the use of classifiers (one classifier at a time) throughout this course and ASL 2.

You can see examples of the classifier 4 handshape (CL:4) in our full course.

Classifier CL:5 Examples

You will see examples of the classifier 5 (and 5 claw) handshape (CL:5/CL:5(claw)) in our full course.

Classifiers Quiz 1.2

You can complete this quiz in our full course.

Take Our Free ASL 1 Course

This unit is just a sample of our complete course where you can learn American Sign Language quickly and easily. Enroll in our Free ASL 1 Course today!