Signs for FRANCE

Meaning: a country in Western Europe.

Phonological variation: The movement or direction of this sign is sometimes the opposite.

It appears to be earliest ASL sign for FRENCH recorded. Signed by George Veditz in the 1913 film, "The Preservation of American Sign Language".

The same sign for FRENCH.

Signs for cities in France: PARIS.

Related signs: EUROPE.

Written ASL

[Note: ASL writing is not an official standard. This sign language writing remains in a state of open space to allow room for experiment, evolution, and improvement.]

ASL written for FRANCE / FRENCH

Written ASL digit for "FRANCE / FRENCH" contributed by Jolanta in the ASLwrite community, 2018.

Deaf Culture and tidbits

Deaf History/Culture

A banquet of the French Deaf
Source: Gallaudet Archives.

"The Parisian Deaf banquets from 1840 onwards have bequeathed to us indications of a more powerful vision of Deafhood, Deaf spirituality and Deaf Nation politics, existing before the rise of Oralism." -- Fischer & Lane, 1993 (via Paddy Ladd's Deafhood book).

Paris was the flourishing intellectual Deaf community in the 18th and 19th centuries, including great Deaf intellectuals and leaders: Saboureux De Fontenay (1742-1806), Pierre Desloges (1747-1799), Jean Massieu (1772-1846), Laurent Clerc (1785-1869) and Rerdinand Berther (1803-1886).

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