Читать книгу Sign Talk - Ernest Thompson Seton - Страница 40

The drawing shows the hands as seen by the second person.

The digits are named: thumb, first or index finger, second or middle finger, third or ring-finger, and fourth or little finger.

The following marks, etc., are used in the illustrations:

Unless otherwise stated the solid outline indicates the position of the hands at the beginning of a sign, the dotted outlines indicate the position of the hands at the finish.

................ Dotted lines indicate the course of hand employed in the sign.

Indicates the commencement point of the movement.

Indicates the direction of movement.

Indicates the point in the gesture line at which the hand position is (x) changed.

Or full stop represents the termination of the movement.

“A hand” means like A, and “B hand” means like B, etc., in the one-handed Deaf Alphabet (Cut 1) on next page. The positions meant by “4 hand,” “5 hand,” “flat hand,” “flat fist,” or “compressed hand,” are figured on the same page.

Begin by learning the Single-hand Manual alphabet as noted above.

Next learn the Numbers and the signs for Question and its combinations; also Yes and No, Good and Bad, Come and Go, Big and Small, Truth and Lie, Strong and Weak, Understand, Perhaps, Talk and Sign-talk, after this refer to the Dictionary for the signs that serve your purpose and use them according to the rules of syntax as herein set forth.

Never lose a chance of talking the Sign Language with an old Plains Indian, preferably of the Cheyenne or Arapahoe tribes. Their wonderful facility and grace are as hard to convey on paper as the pronunciation of French, and are as essential for the best style in Sign Talk. One may, indeed, know every sign in this book and not be a good sign-talker, so fundamental is this correct accent, or manner.