Common mistakes hearing ASL learners make with grammar, non-manual markers, and cultural norms, explained for upper-level learners. Front: the concept or mistake. Back: an explanation of the correct ASL usage.
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- Facial grammar
- Many new learners under-use facial expressions, but in ASL, eyebrow position and mouth movements are grammatically required, not optional emotional add-ons; skipping them changes or removes meaning.
- Eye contact
- Beginners often look down at their own hands while signing; in ASL conversation, maintaining eye contact with the person you're signing to is expected, and signing without looking at your hands is normal.
- Mouthing English words
- New signers sometimes silently mouth full English sentences while signing, which does not match ASL grammar; ASL uses its own mouth morphemes tied to specific signs, not English lip-syncing.
- Signing word-for-word English
- Beginners often sign in English word order; ASL has its own grammar with topic-comment structure that does not match English word order, so translating literally sounds unnatural.
- Fingerspelling too fast
- New learners fingerspell in a rush trying to match spoken speed; clear, evenly paced fingerspelling is more important than speed, and receivers read the whole shape of the word, not each letter individually.
- Overusing fingerspelling
- Beginners fingerspell common words that already have an established sign instead of learning and using the sign, which is unnatural and effortful for fluent signers to read.
- Ignoring question markers
- Yes or no questions require raised eyebrows and a forward head tilt, while wh-questions require furrowed eyebrows; using a flat, neutral facial expression makes a question look like a statement.
- Dropping topic-comment structure
- ASL often states the topic first, then comments on it, for example COFFEE, ME LIKE for I like coffee; beginners often skip topicalization and default to English subject-verb-object order.
- Confusing directional verbs
- Some ASL verbs like GIVE or ASK change direction and movement to show who is doing the action to whom; beginners often sign them the same way regardless of subject and object, losing that information.
- Using classifiers incorrectly
- Classifiers are handshapes representing categories of objects such as vehicles, flat objects, or people; using the wrong classifier handshape for the object being described confuses fluent signers.
- Neglecting role shifting
- When retelling a conversation or story with multiple characters, ASL uses body shifts and eye gaze changes to show who is speaking; beginners often skip this, making stories hard to follow.
- Signing space too small
- Nervous beginners often sign in a cramped space close to the chest; ASL uses a wider signing space, and cramped signing is harder to read clearly.
- Wrong palm orientation
- Palm orientation changes meaning for some signs, such as YOUR versus MY using different palm directions; beginners often ignore orientation and only focus on handshape and location.
- Signing THE and A
- English articles like the and a generally do not have direct ASL equivalents; new learners often try to sign them, which is unnecessary and non-standard.
- Skipping the wh-question hold
- Many wh-questions are naturally ended with a held facial expression at the end; leaving it off can make the question feel incomplete to a fluent signer.
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