"China" (in American Sign Language)

In Europe, if a woman points at this 3 erogenous parts in that order it won't mean China.

Kinda late in posting to this here thread, but thought I could maybe shed insight as my profession is teacher of the deaf in the US. Most American Sign Language signs pertaining to nationalities do tend to be rather stereotypical.... tracing the buttons on an imperial garment to indicate China, two fingers stuck into a closed fist (indicating a fork into a potato) for Ireland, and the wiggling finers for eagle being representative of Germany. While not always politically correct, American Sign Language can be very literal. Others that have pretty rediculous connotations include tracing the outline of a big nose for Greek, and re-employing the sign for vodka to indicate a Russian. I've traveled a bit internationally (mainly S.E. Asia and Europe) and have bumped into a few deaf persons all using their own regional/national sign language. Despite this, I've always been able to pick up the gist of their signs as signs are visual by nature ... oftentimes signs for bodies of water, vehicles, and foods will have a strong similarity though the verbal vocabulary can be markedly different. I'm curious if results will be consistent when I make it to China next summer (presuming l encounter a deaf person along the way).

In British Sign Language it was common to indicate narrower eyes by firstly pointing to between the eyes and rotating the fingers out to the edge of each eye. That is used far less now due to racial connotations, even though it was never intended as such. The media had a field day with it, but deaf culture is very visual (obviously) so many signs which seem completely normal to them are offensive to hearing people (if they understand it). The sign I've seen more frequently is where the major hand's index finger points to a point on the chest below the shoulder, moves along under the other shoulder, then straight down (upside-down L-shape) to indicate the shape of the outer flap of a form of traditional Chinese clothing.

Ahhh ... the clothing thing makes perfect sense. The one for "Irish" involved tapping two fingers on the top of your wrist. I take this to mean: "Pub's closing, mates." or "Somebody stole my watch." / I kid, I kid ... // ... and I'm Irish too. /// Welcome back, Ken!

I communicate FAR better in BSL than in Mandarin... at the moment. I find Chinese Sign Language interesting, and a few years ago I was trying to find out about it, but there was next to know information about it. Anyone know a good place to find out about deaf culture in China? I've only just checked the link to the ASL page (as I had to switch proxy) and it's exactly the same as I was describing before for BSL.

I don't know ASL, but since I was reaching out to a deaf community in Tianjin with an ASL teacher, she learned CSL and I learn a bit. The funnest thing is that right off the bat I learned how to say America (as well as Germany since a German girl also went with us) since the most common question, even for the deaf is of course "你是哪国人？” America is first twirling your right pointer finger around your ear three times and then drawing a box around your chest (of course meaning 国). Yes, you got it, the motion all American's use to say someone is crazy in the head! While I won't comment on that, it is funny that they don't even knew it meant that to Americans. I don't know why they twirl their finger around their ear to mean USA. And Germany? Well, let's say the German girl got really offended. You take two fingers of the right hand and put them vertical above your lip, yes, like a mustache, and then with the same hand, move it away and put the palm out towards your "listener", fingers straight up. You figure out the rest. I hear they are trying to make that more P.C.

Of course I should be correct and not say CSL, as there is no standard in China, well there is I think, but like the spoken language (even Beijing doesn't speak standardized PuTongHua), the deaf community feels comfortable using their own "dialect", not doing well at stopping their "Hail Hitler!" when my German friend would visit them (all they were doing was telling the others the German girl was here, what's wrong with that? :P )

The ASL version of "Germany" isn't all that flattering either. You point your index finger up and place it on your forehead like a horn. (That's what it looks like; I have no clue what it actually represents.)

Yes, I'll confirm Thom's interpretation of the China sign. That's curious about the sign for America. I wonder what that gesture represents. That's pretty funny, though. In any case, whether you like it or not, the Nazi salute is probably the most recognizable German gesture, which is probably what those deaf people are concerned with rather than political correctness.

They better change it into something like using theyr fingers to make a merkel face :-[ or so (I hate rassistic stuff and what looks like it! )

There is an interesting contribution in Sinosplice on Chinese Sign Language: http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2007/04/11/character-based-sign-language

the Children today are reale violent ... err...3/5 couldn´t imagine how that cake would look like.I still say it should be the washing thing... and that potato thing, was weard I guessed pox... anyway it has something funny this quizz :-)

Thx FuDaWei for such an interesting post : )

testing! :-)

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FuDaWei, you asked about the meaning of the generally accepted sign used for Germany in most sign languages which uses a pointed index finger handshape placed on the forehead with the index finger pointing upwards ... It represents the Imperial German/Prussian spiked helmet. This sign is not perjorative as the "Hitler moustache" or "Heil Hitler arm movement" versions and yet visual and graphic to convey meaning to the Deaf community whose language is essentially visual, iconic and uses visual snapshots of meaning.

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I always wondered about this too. I learned a little ASL when I worked at a camp for special needs children and two of the councilors were deaf. My run ins with deaf people in China was always on the subway when they would pass me that little card and ask me for a donation. I usually gave them whatever change I had. I mean China is far from the best country in the world for anyone with a disability.

FuDaWei- Hmm, I'd never seen that sign for Germany. Interesting. The other sign for Germany in that dictionary is significantly more common.

Man, I went to the page mentioned above for China, and went to the "Quiz Me" section, http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/quizme.cgi I don't know ASL, but I laughed so hard, not at their language of course, but at what came to my mind when I saw them do a sign and then I had to pick an answer. Actually, doing my first quiz of 5 questions, I got 4 out of 5 right, so it was kind of cool and easy to think "hmm...what could that mean?" But why I laughed, for example is that one of my words was "oil digging" and before I saw the choices (and guessed right because nothing else made sense), I said "Uh, you're beating someone up and that's because the person is a loser" (because she first pounded something and then at the end of the sign the lady make an L with her hand). You should try it... really fun.