Campus Asl Boom Drives Massive Demand for Conversational Signs Like 'Feel'
By David Miller
Manual precision accounts for only half of the grammatical equation in ASL. The structural reality that trips up hearing beginners is that English relies on vocal pitch and prosody, whereas ASL relies on non-manual markers (NMMs) etched across the face and torso.
Moving the open 8 handshape up the chest while maintaining a blank, motionless expression strips the sign of its semantic intent. In Deaf culture and community spaces, signing "feel" with a flat face looks robotic and emotionally detached.
To convey "I feel happy," the upward chest movement must sync with raised eyebrows, soft eye crinkles, and an elevated mouth line. Conversely, signing "I feel sick" or "I feel terrible" demands furrowed brows, a slight downward tilt of the chin, and an exhalation of breath or a downturned mouth posture. The speed and weight of the hand's stroke also modify the meaning. A rapid, sharp upward flick indicates sudden intuition or a startling sensation, while a drawn-out, heavy drag reflects chronic exhaustion or profound sorrow.
| Sign & Target Concept | Handshape & Contact Point | Non-Manual Markers (NMMs) | Common Novice Blunder |
|---|---|---|---|
| FEEL (Base / Emotional) | Open 8 (bent middle finger); sternum brush upward | Contextual: brows soften for empathy, raise for joy | Fingerspelling the word instead of using conceptual signs |
| TOUCH / PHYSICAL FEEL | Open 8 (middle finger taps back of non-dominant hand) | Focused gaze on contact point; neutral or descriptive face | Using chest-movement "feel" to describe touching a texture |
| SICK (Physical Sensation) | Dual Open 8 (one at forehead, one at stomach) | Furrowed brow, squinted eyes, slight grimace | Signing "FEEL" + "SICK" literally instead of the native lexical sign |
| TEND TO / HABIT | Open 8 (chest placement, pulls straight forward away from body) | Head nods subtly forward; relaxed eyebrow line | Confusing forward pull with upward brush, mangling meaning |
David Miller brings 15 years of experience in global economics, personal finance strategy, and market dynamics. He specializes in turning complex economic trends into actionable insights for everyday readers.
