Becoming an Accurate Fingerspeller
Before forming the letters of the manual alphabet, you'll need to get into the proper position and learn special strategies to become a good fingerspeller.
The following are some tips to ensure accurate fingerspelling:
Make sure your palm faces the receiver/reader.
Hold your dominant hand slightly to the right of your face and just below the chin.
Make sure your elbow is close to your body.
Do not bounce the letters.
Relax, and let the letters flow smoothly.
Speed is not important; it is the clarity of the formation of each letter that matters.
Do not say or mouth single letters.
Move slightly to the right or slide slightly to the right for double letters.
Practice fingerspelling with your elbow resting on a table or desk.
It takes time to get used to fingerspelling and to gain a comfort zone. Try to prevent developing the “bobber-weaver” syndrome and the famous “wing-thing.” The “bobber-weaver” syndrome is when the signer fingerspells and moves her wrist and hand position, like a car weaving out of control. This pattern and flow is erratic, making it difficult to comprehend what is being fingerspelled. The “wing-thing” is when the signer, while fingerspell-ing, constantly lifts her elbow away from the body, as if about to take flight.
To help control and prevent these errors, here are a few tricks that you can learn. During an ASL conversation in which you fingerspell, use your left arm as a support for your right elbow. (If your left hand is dominant, then use your right for support.) This support position is the same as when you formed the signs for “sunrise, sunset” in Chapter 3. Another way to stabilize your hand and arm is to hold your wrist with your left hand, just below the wrist bone. This enables you to immediately feel when your fingerspell-ing becomes out of control or is starting to take flight. For the novice signer, another less obvious stabilizer is to place the left index finger on the front of the right wrist.
While practicing fingerspelling, try applying these small safeguards for a nice steady and smooth flow. Believe it or not, before you even realize it, you will not need to apply these fingerspelling safeguards at all. In the beginning, though, these serve as control mechanisms that help the novice signer quite nicely.
