START in sign language

Printable ASL sign for START
Printable

Guess you're coming to this page for two possible reasons -- one to learn how to sign "start" and another is to learn how to start learning American Sign Language as a foreign language? Which one? Now you want both, okay.

ASL signs for 'start'

For a starter, here shows you how to sign 'start'.

Meaning: To begin a movement, activity, or undertaking.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant horizontal forefinger with the palm down and its tip of the forefinger starts inside the curve between the forefinger and middle finger of the non-dominant hand whose palm is facing left (for right-handed) and fingers facing outward. The forefinger twists clockwise once at the wrist.

Note that there are several signs and classifiers associated with 'start' in ASL, but at least this sign is just a basic for beginners. As you learn ASL more after hundreds of hours, you will be able to convey different signs.

For example for a sentence "start a engine", sign this way:

Meaning: to cause (a machine or engine) to begin to work. E.g.: he started up the engine.

Related signs: BEGIN, COMMENCE.

Phrasal verb

Meaning: to begin to do something again from the beginning.

How to start learning sign language

Learners start learning sign language for different reasons whether to become an interpreter or to become a teacher of deaf students or to (manually) speak a new language with their deaf kids, or to converse with a deaf signers in Deaf community. Let's see which one clicks your gut.

Since you're already on this site, scroll down to the "Beginner" tab next to the Search tab. In this section, you can also browse lessons, Deaf culture articles, and other resources.

To start learning first words, browse the most-used vocabulary.

In addition to this resource, check with your community college, university, continuing education programs, etc. for information on ASL courses or qualified Deaf tutors whether in classroom or online classes.

This where to take sign language courses post suggests some ideas on how to find ASL classes.

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First 100 words.

  1. again
  2. also
  3. ask
  4. bad
  5. boy
  6. but
  7. can
  8. come
  9. deaf
  10. different
  11. drink
  12. drive
  13. eat
  14. email
  15. excuse
  16. family
  17. feel
  18. few
  19. find
  20. fine
  21. fingerspell
  22. finish
  23. food
  24. for
  25. forget
  26. friend
  27. get
  28. girl
  29. give
  30. go
  31. good
  32. have, has, had
  33. he
  34. hearing
  35. hello
  36. help
  37. home
  38. how
  39. Internet
  40. know
  41. later
  42. like (feeling)
  43. little
  44. live
  45. man
  46. many
  47. me
  48. meet
  49. more
  50. my
  51. name
  52. need
  53. new
  54. no
  55. not
  56. now
  57. ok, okay
  58. old
  59. other
  60. please
  61. remember
  62. same
  63. say
  64. school
  65. see
  66. she
  67. should
  68. sign, signed word
  69. slow
  70. some
  71. sorry
  72. store
  73. take
  74. tell
  75. text, sms
  76. thank, thank you
  77. their
  78. they
  79. think
  80. time
  81. tired
  82. try
  83. understand
  84. use
  85. wait
  86. want
  87. what
  88. when
  89. where
  90. which
  91. who
  92. why
  93. will
  94. with
  95. woman
  96. work
  97. write
  98. yes
  99. you
  100. your

As you feel more comfortable with the first few hundreds of ASL signs, progress further with your vocabulary and learn signing more.