D and L, Dancers

Monday night we learned that one of our dancers is fluent in American Sign Language, a topic in which Daniel and I share a real but largely hypothetical interest.  After comparing notes on some signs (the ones we’ve picked up from watching ABC Family’s Switched at Birth are correct, but utterly random–“Ferris wheel”?) and learning that ASL does indeed have its own etymologies (of course the sign for “mother” is meant to evoke a woman tying on her bonnet), we somehow fell onto the topic of name signs.

A name sign is a shortcut way of saying someone’s name so that you don’t have to fingerspell it e.v.e.r.y. s.i.n.g.l.e. t.i.m.e.  How tedious would that be if you were talking about someone named “Persephone” or something?  So you cut it down to the first letter of the person’s name, combined with a sign that illustrates something about that person.  Like on Switched at Birth, one of the main characters is named Bay and her name sign is the letter B waved next to the head to indicate her curly hair.  There are other nuances (Deaf culture is, well, an entire culture!) but that’s the basic idea.

So our dancer showed us the sign for “dance.”  To make our name signs we use the respective first letters of our names (here is D and here is L) in place of the fingers pointing downward/moving back and forth.  How awesome is that?  I also think it is sweet that we have matching name signs.  Perfect for dance partners, right?

Our dancer says further that Marlee Matlin’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars was her inspiration to learn to dance.  I’m a big Marlee Matlin fan too!