Tutorial

Fractions and numbers in American Sign Language

fractions in sign language

A fraction simply tells us how many parts of a whole there are. You can recognize a fraction by the horizontal line that is written between the two numbers: one number above and one below the horizontal line.

one-third in sign language

To express a fraction in American Sign Language (ASL), the handshape of a number is transformed into another number as it moves downward. Eg. 1 -> 2 for 1/2 or 3 -> 4 for 3/4 from the upper space to lower space across the imaginary horizontal line from the signer's perspective.

The palm orientation generally faces in between number one and nine in fractions. For the rest of numbers beyond ten, the rules of palm orientation are the same as cardinal numbers.

half, one-half, 1/2

three-fourths;, 3/4

one-fourth;, 1/4

You get the idea.

Christopher Kurz in the YouTube video above demostrates how to explain math concepts in ASL, specifically proper fraction, improper fraction, and mixed fraction.

Related posts

Related number tutorial: division in ASL, how to count numbers 1-30.

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Jump-starting

  1. How to fingerspell ABCs
  2. What is and what is not sign language?

Getting started

  1. Benefits of learning sign language
  2. Awareness quiz and Reflections
  3. Basic transcription symbols (glosses)

Language/Culture Fundamentals

  1. What is American Sign Language?
  2. Understanding variations
  3. Introducing audism
  4. Cultural appropriation

Learning first words

  1. Expressing greetings
  2. Introducing oneself and others
  3. Fingerspelling exercise
  4. Expressing goodbyes

ASL Basics

  1. Personal Pronouns
  2. Possessive Pronouns
  3. WH-questions
  4. Yes/no questions
  5. SVO sentence structure
  6. OSV sentence structure
  7. Numbers 1-10+
  8. Basic time: future, present, past

ASL Basics II

  1. Asking what the sign is for a word
  2. Spatial referencing
  3. Verb inflections
  4. Contrastive structure
  5. Listing and Ranking
  6. Classifier basics

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  1. Review basic tenses
  2. Calendar: DAYS
  3. Calendar: MONTHS
  4. Transportation: basics

Shopping

  1. Telling prices in dollars and cents

Talking about activities

  1. Frequency of time: how often?

Are you able to carry everyday conversations in ASL? Are you a student in the intermediate levels and beyond, who wishes to boost up your signing skills? You've come to the selected tutorial series. (Some premium content are available to PatronPlus membership.)

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