What non-manual markers are
People watching fluent signers for the first time often describe them as very expressive. Much of what looks like expression is grammar. The eyebrows, eyes, mouth, head tilt and shoulders all carry meaning that the hands do not.
These signals are called non-manual markers, since they are made without the hands. They show whether a sentence is a question, whether it is negative, which part is the topic, how big or small something is, and how an action was done. Signing without them is often wrong, or at least unclear.
Children who grow up signing absorb these markers the way hearing children absorb tone of voice. Adult learners usually need to take them one at a time. For the wider picture of ASL grammar, see why ASL is its own language.
Questions and the eyebrows
A spoken English question often rises in pitch at the end. ASL marks questions with the eyebrows, and the marker is held across the whole question.
Yes-no questions
For a question that can be answered yes or no, the eyebrows go up, the eyes widen slightly, and the head usually leans a little forward. The expression lasts for the whole question and often a moment after the last sign. YOU DEAF signed with a neutral face will often be read as a statement. With raised brows, it is clearly a question.
Wh-questions
For questions that use signs such as WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW, the eyebrows come down and draw together, and the head may tilt or push slightly forward. Learners sometimes worry that this looks angry. To a fluent signer it looks like a question. A slight smile can soften it, but the lowered brows should stay.
Rhetorical questions
Signers often ask a question and answer it themselves as a way of introducing information, such as WHY LATE, BUS BROKE. The question sign is made with raised eyebrows, and the answer follows. This is one of the first places learners notice the eyebrows doing grammatical work.
The head: negation, topics and conditions
- Negation. A side-to-side head shake can make a sentence negative even without a sign such as NOT. The shake runs across the part of the sentence being negated.
- Affirmation. A nod confirms or stresses that something is true.
- Topics. When a signer names a topic first, the eyebrows rise and the head tilts slightly during the topic, then relax for the comment.
- Conditions. In a sentence like "if it rains, we stay home," the brows are raised during the condition and drop as the result is signed.
These movements are small. A dramatic head shake looks as odd as no head shake at all, so watch fluent signers and match the size they use.
An easy mistake
A head shake is easy to add without noticing. A learner concentrating on the sign LIKE can shake their head at the same moment, and a fluent signer will read the sentence as "I don't like it." Checking your head movement on video catches this quickly.
Mouth morphemes
The mouth does two different jobs in ASL. The first is mouthing, where signers shape part of an English word on the lips alongside some signs. How much people mouth varies widely between signers and settings, and it is something to pick up by watching over time.
The second job belongs to ASL itself. Mouth morphemes are mouth shapes that add meaning to a sign, and they do not correspond to English words. A few common ones are worth learning early:
- MM. Lips pressed together and pushed out slightly. It means normal, relaxed or as expected, such as driving along at an easy pace.
- OO. Lips rounded. It suggests something small, thin or fine.
- CHA. The mouth opens as if saying the syllable. It suggests something large or tall.
- CS. Teeth together, one corner of the mouth pulled back, often with the shoulder raised toward the cheek. It means very close in time or space, such as just now or right next to.
- TH. The tongue slightly out between the teeth. It means carelessly or without paying attention.
- Puffed cheeks. These suggest a large amount, a crowd, or something thick or heavy.
With these, one sign for driving can mean driving calmly, driving carelessly or driving very close, without any extra signs.
Why hearing learners hold back
Facial grammar is often the part of early ASL that hearing adults find hardest to commit to. Many hearing adults are used to keeping their faces still in public, so moving the face on purpose feels exposing.
Some learners also worry that exaggeration will look like mocking the language. That concern is reasonable, and the answer is to copy real signers closely and keep movements at a natural size. A beginner's attention is busy with the hands as well, which improves with time as long as the face gets deliberate practice.
Practicing until it feels natural
Start with signs you already know
Take ten signs you are confident with and build short questions from them. Sign each one as a yes-no question, then as a wh-question. Because the hands are easy, your attention can go to your brows.
Use a mirror, then a camera
A mirror helps for the first week or two. After that, record a minute of signing on a phone and watch it back with the sound off. Video shows things you cannot feel, such as brows that drop halfway through a question or a head shake you did not intend. Recording yourself this way is useful for every part of ASL.
Watch faces
When you watch Deaf signers, look at the face and take in the hands with your wider vision. This is also the core habit in practicing receptive skills, and the two skills grow together.
Get feedback from Deaf signers
Self-study cannot tell you what your face actually communicated. A Deaf teacher or conversation partner can. If you are still looking for a class, choosing a first ASL class covers what to look for.
