SOUND in sign language

Sound isn't silence to deaf people. Vibration is the sound to them.

ASL signs for "sound"

There are two signs for "sound" and another one for a different meaning in American Sign Language.

Definition: Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard or felt when they reach a person's or animal's ear or body respectively.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant index finger points to ear and then "5" handshape moves outward in tiny zigzag movement.

Variation: Dominant "5" handshape moves outward in tiny zigzag movement from the ear.

Related signs: VIBRATION, VOICE.

Opposite: SILENCE.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant index finger points to ear twice.

Usage examples: "she heard the sound of voices in the hall".

Polysemy: This signword also can mean "HEAR/HEARD" in other contexts. E.g. "We heard the rumor that...".

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant index finger points to ear.

Usage examples: "it sounds good". Another ways of signing it can be "SEEM" or "LOOK-LIKE".

Deaf Culture

Performing artist Chris Dodd founded SOUND OFF, Canada's theatre festival devoted to the Deaf performing arts.

He was awarded the Guy Laliberté Prize in 2020 by the Canada Council for the Arts in honour of his exceptional work in Deaf theatre.

Deconstruct the concept of sound and silence (post).

Enjoy the video art and discussion in the post on the sound of silence and tidbits (post) by Jolanta Lapiak (myself). The video was one of my early student media arts.

Reminds me of John Cage's 4'33, a silent piece of music.

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~~ Feeling lucky? ¯\(°_o)/¯ Random word ~~

Search Tips and Pointers

Search/Filter: Enter a keyword in the filter/search box to see a list of available words with the "All" selection. Click on the page number if needed. Click on the blue link to look up the word. For best result, enter a partial word to see variations of the word.

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Alphabetical letters: It's useful for 1) a single-letter word (such as A, B, etc.) and 2) very short words (e.g. "to", "he", etc.) to narrow down the words and pages in the list.

For best result, enter a short word in the search box, then select the alphetical letter (and page number if needed), and click on the blue link.

Screenshot of dictionary search with notes
Screenshot of the search dictionary

Don't forget to click "All" back when you search another word with a different initial letter.

If you cannot find (perhaps overlook) a word but you can still see a list of links, then keep looking until the links disappear! Sharpening your eye or maybe refine your alphabetical index skill. :)

Add a Word: This dictionary is not exhaustive; ASL signs are constantly added to the dictionary. If you don't find a word/sign, you can send your request (only if a single link doesn't show in the result).

Videos: The first video may be NOT the answer you're looking for. There are several signs for different meanings, contexts, and/or variations. Browsing all the way down to the next search box is highly recommended.

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ASL has its own grammar and structure in sentences that works differently from English. For plurals, verb inflections, word order, etc., learn grammar in the "ASL Learn" section. For search in the dictionary, use the present-time verbs and base words. If you look for "said", look up the word "say". Likewise, if you look for an adjective word, try the noun or vice versa. E.g. The ASL signs for French and France are the same. If you look for a plural word, use a singular word.