Profanity in ASL
Encyclopedia
American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

(ASL) the sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...

 used by the Deaf Community
Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...

 throughout most of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, has a rich vocabulary of terms which include profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...

. Within Deaf culture, there is a distinction drawn between signs used to curse versus signs that are used to describe sexual acts. In usage, signs to describe detailed sexual behavior are highly taboo due to their graphic nature. As for the signs themselves, some signs do overlap, but they may also vary according to usage. For example, the sign for "shit
Shit
Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...

" when used to curse is different than the sign for "shit" when used to describe the bodily function or the fecal matter (which is to make the letter "s" and rub the tip of your nose from right to left).

Examples

  • The back of dominant open b-handshape flipped out under chin means "sex you" or "so what?" Using a middle finger as the 'classic' flipping of the bird
    Finger (gesture)
    In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...

     has the same meaning. These are actually gestures and not actual ASL signs. Some linguists contend that when the middle finger is used directionally, and pointed at someone or something, it becomes a sign. Another common sign for "fuck" uses an "FK" abbreviation, signed with an f-handshape changing to a k-handshape, which is referred to as a "loan sign". A "loan sign" is when a fingerspelled word is modified to leave out letters, form a specific shape, or move in a specific direction to become an actual sign(1).

  • "Dick" is a "d" handshape tapping the nose.

  • The thumb/index finger side of a b-handshape struck against the side of the mouth or chin means "bitch" (contact point is the side of the index finger). "Bastard" can be produced by doing the same sign but locating it on the forehead.

  • Touching the p-handshape middle finger to the nose tip then bringing it out to "F" (done with one hand) means "piss off", or, literally, “PENIS F”. This sign creates the meaning of “piss off” by combining the sign for "penis/piss" and abbreviating "O-F-F" by using simply one "F".

  • Holding a d-handshape in front of the body with the index finger pointing somewhat forward and to the left and the palm pointing somewhat down, then shoving the hand quickly down and to the right in an arc as if condemning someone to hell signifies “Damn” The sign properly ends pointing mostly down and off to the right a bit. Doing this sign with an "H" means "hell
    Hell
    In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

    ."

  • A rather illustrative sign for "bullshit" uses both arms held out, elbows bent, and folded in front of the signer with the dominant forearm on top. The dominant hand mimics a pair of horns with the index and pinkie finger. The non-dominant hand mimics the "business end" with flapping fingers. However, this sign is not considered part of ASL, but rather invented by hearing people. This sign has been changed, now with both the pointer and pinkie finger being extended and thrusting the hand forward to signify "bullshit."

  • The well-known OK gesture, when held with the thumb on top at the level of the chest means "asshole
    Asshole
    The word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a term used pejoratively to describe the anus.-History:...

    ", as seen in the film Mr. Holland's Opus
    Mr. Holland's Opus
    Mr. Holland's Opus is a 1995 American drama film directed by Stephen Herek, produced by Ted Field, Robert W. Cort, and Michael Nolin, and Executive Produced by Patrick Sheane Duncan. It stars Richard Dreyfuss in the title role, and the cast includes Glenne Headly, Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy...

    .

  • As profanity is often used when angry, it is not uncommon for signers to use fingerspelled loan signs (or lexicalised fingerspelling) when swearing; e.g., bullshit would be quickly fingerspelled and in ASL gloss it would be represented as #BULLSHIT.

(1 Valli, Clayton and Lucas, Ceil. Linguistics of American Sign Language. Washington DC:Gallaudet University Press, 2001.
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