Video: https://youtu.be/wqSdXsJxW_s
It’s been a while since my last ASL Ponderings.
Hello and welcome to Vlogmas day two and ASL Ponderings. Today, I want to talk about numbers and how you can change signs depending on context. I won’t be going in-depth about this, because I feel like this is something a lot of people can figure out, mostly. Just want to give my thoughts.
I will use the number 101 as the main example. There are a couple different ways to sign numbers in the hundreds. 1-C is one, the other way is 1-X. Which one can depend on your preference, but sometimes it does depend on what situation it’s used in.
You won’t always use the C or X, sometimes you will do an O instead. For example, there’s one hundred and one which is 1-X-1 and there’s one-oh-one, 1-oh-1. It depends on what the context is. So if you’re talking about an one hundred and one Dalmatians, it would be 1-X-1 Dalmatians. 1-X-1 or 1-C-1. If you’re talking about Physics 101, it would be 1-oh-1, or room 101, which is said 1-oh-1. You don’t say room one hundred and one.
Another example would be temperature. You wouldn’t say 1-oh-1 Fahrenheit! You would say 1-X-1 or 1-C-1. Often, which sign you choose depends on the flow. And how it works in language. Room 1-oh-1, or 1-X-1 Dalmatians. If you think about it, you could do 1-C-1 but it’s a little awkward. 1-X-1 is much easier to sign. It’s because it’s all about flow. If you were to do 1-C-20, ehh not the greatest. 1-X-20 flows much more easily.
Sign, or at least for ASL, it’s all about efficiency, it’s the same with spoken language. They may shorten words, we shorten signs too. We find ways to make signs flow faster and more smoothly.
So that’s my thoughts. Do you agree, disagree, want to add more? Leave it in the comments. And that’s it for me today!
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