Why numbers need attention
Many beginners expect numbers to be the easy part, since most people already count on their fingers. But hearing finger-counting habits differ from ASL numbers in several ways, and some of those habits have to be set aside.
Numbers also come up constantly. Ages, prices, times, dates, addresses, phone numbers and how many children someone has all appear in the first few minutes of meeting a person. A learner who is unsure of numbers gets lost early, even with good vocabulary otherwise.
The order below builds each group on the one before and leaves the trickier uses until the basic forms are steady.
One to ten, and palm direction
One to five
The first thing to learn is palm direction. When you sign one to five on their own, as a count or an amount, the palm faces you. That feels odd at first, because most hearing people hold up fingers with the palm facing out.
The handshapes differ from casual finger-counting habits in one place that catches almost everyone:
- One is the index finger.
- Two is the index and middle fingers.
- Three is the thumb, index and middle fingers. Many hearing learners use the index, middle and ring fingers instead, and keep that habit for months.
- Four is four fingers raised, with the thumb tucked into the palm.
- Five is the whole open hand.
Palm direction does change in some uses, covered further down. For a plain count, keep the palm toward you.
Six to ten
From six to nine, the palm faces the person watching, and the thumb touches one fingertip while the other fingers stay extended.
- Six: the thumb touches the little finger.
- Seven: the thumb touches the ring finger.
- Eight: the thumb touches the middle finger.
- Nine: the thumb touches the index finger.
One way to remember the pattern is that the thumb moves inward by one finger as the number goes up.
Ten is a closed hand with the thumb pointing up, given a small shake or twist. Keep the movement small, since a large shake looks like a gesture.
The teens and twenties
Charts stop being enough at this point. The teens and twenties have their own forms and movements, and they are much easier to copy from a person than to learn from a picture.
Eleven to fifteen
These are signed with the palm facing you. Eleven flicks the index finger up from a closed hand, and twelve flicks the index and middle fingers. Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen bend the raised fingers repeatedly.
Sixteen to nineteen
These combine ten with six, seven, eight or nine, usually as a twist from the ten handshape into the second number. Forms vary by region and generation, so follow the signers around you.
Twenty and up
Twenty, twenty-one and several other numbers in the twenties have their own shapes. From about thirty onward, most numbers are signed digit by digit, such as three then four for thirty-four. Numbers with a repeated digit, such as twenty-two or fifty-five, are usually signed with a small bounce or slide of the same handshape.
Numbers that join other signs
Many ASL signs can take a number directly into their handshape. Linguists call this number incorporation. In practice, one sign does the work of two English words.
- Time of day. A signer touches the back of the wrist, where a watch would sit, and then signs the number.
- Hours, weeks and months. For small amounts, the number handshape itself makes the movement of the time sign. Two weeks is one sign, with the two handshape sliding across the palm the way WEEK does.
- Ages. Age signs start near the chin and move out into the number. Palm direction here does not always match the direction used for counting, so copy a fluent signer.
- Money. Small dollar amounts often add a twist of the wrist to the number. Cents are usually shown by touching near the forehead first and then signing the number.
Incorporation usually works only for small numbers, and larger amounts are signed in full. The exact limit varies by sign, which is another reason to learn these from people.
Numbers practiced only as a count tend to fade. Numbers practiced as ages, times and prices get used in conversation, and they stay. Start with time of day and ages, because they come up in almost every first conversation. Add weeks and months once those feel natural, and leave money until you have a reason to use it.
Phone numbers, years and lists
Numbers that work as labels, such as phone numbers, house numbers and room numbers, are often signed differently from amounts. Many signers turn the palm outward for one to five in these cases. Phone numbers are signed in the same groups English uses, with a small pause between groups.
Years are usually split into two pairs, the way English speakers say nineteen ninety-eight. Years from two thousand onward are signed in more than one way, and different signers make different choices. Follow the people you sign with most.
Lists work another way. When a signer lists several things, they often count them off on the fingers of the non-dominant hand, touching one finger for each item. Once the list is set up, pointing back to a finger refers to that item. This is related to how ASL uses space in general, described in why ASL is its own language.
The mix-ups almost everyone makes
- Six and W. They use the same handshape, and context shows which is meant.
- Two and V, nine and F. The same applies. The shape is shared and the situation decides.
- The wrong three. Three uses the thumb, index and middle fingers. If you learned it another way, fix it now.
- Palm out for a plain count. This is the most common carryover from hearing finger-counting habits.
- Separating the time sign from the number. Signing WEEK and then TWO is understandable, but it looks unnatural next to the single incorporated sign.
Reading numbers lags behind signing them for most learners, because fluent signers move quickly through prices and phone numbers. Practice for reading them is covered in practicing receptive skills.
Where to start
Begin with one to five, palm toward you, and make sure your three includes the thumb. Once six to nine feel steady, sign your own age and the current time the way you would in a real conversation. The teens and twenties can wait until the first ten feel automatic, and they are best learned from a Deaf teacher or fluent signer who can show you the movement.
