What’s Your Sign Name?
BBC Ouch! on the strange gift of sign language names.
When a sign name is given to you, it’s special. A bit like losing your deaf virginity. It’s thought up after an intense period of observation, when people have worked out firstly whether they like you enough to give you one (a sign name, that is), and they’ve taken all your habits and mannerisms into account to find a name that best sums you up.
Given examples are Hand-Rubber, Waffle and Splasher.
via Mind Hacks
2 Comments
this might be over stating the thought process of sign names a bit.… it is true in some cases, but not all.
my sign name did come after I got to know this deaf dude I was working with, but what he did only came about because I used to wear an earring in my left ear— thus the sign name was the letter B (open flat hand pointing up with the thumb tucked into the palm) and brushing under the left ear lobe a couple of times.
I saw this a lot– the first letter of a person’s name being combined with something about appearance.
it’s just a nickname, not really a big deal.
a name sign or sign name is a gift u dont just make one up mine is an a brushed on the right sode of the chin first and then brushed on the left so basically twin my brother alec on the other hand his name sign is an a held up and shaken like a mirror meaning mirror its a joke between us and our friends since we’re mirror image twins and since we hang out in a mainly deaf comunity everyone else finds it completely halarious as do i