American Sign Language (ASL) Uses More than the Hands

The article, "American Sign Language (ASL) uses more than the hands" discusses how American Sign Language makes use of the signer’s facial movements and the placement of signs around the body.

ASL makes use of eyebrow movement and eye gaze.  It also makes use of the mouth to mark distance and mouth shape to indicate size. In addition, there are ways ASL uses the mouth that are more specific to certain words or phrases. Finally, the placement of signs relative to a signer’s body is crucial for meaning, including the direction a sign moves. The space around a signer’s body can also describe the location of things and be used to describe time.