BUG in sign language

ASL sign for BUG

How to sign "bug" in American Sign Language (ASL)?

Meaning: A small insect.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant "3" hand with thumb in contact with nose, upright fingers and thumb claw twice.

Same sign for INSECT.

Cross-cultural anecdotes

One of a few funny misfortunes was that a couple stopped on the sidewalk to let Juli (age 1;7) pet their dog. Juli, sitting in her stroller, hesitated to pet but she looked at the stranger and spontaneously told a story, insect got-slapped! (where the production for "insect" was not fully developed yet). She was talking about a mosquito. The man smiled subtly (or at least half-smiled).

Imagine, the man through his perception, who didn't know ASL and had no idea about the early phonological development in sign language) looked at the toddler who signed by "honking" her nose and "slapped". How weird that toddler must be! He'd never think of a 'insect' or 'mosquito'. The "claw 3" handshape for INSECT is one of the handshapes to develop only much later.