Mastering how to comment on family members in American Sign Language requires more than just memorizing vocabulary. If you're working through the Sign Naturally curriculum, you'll quickly notice that describing relatives involves specific non-manual markers, topicalization, and subtle facial expressions that change the entire tone of your statement.
When you sign about family, your sentences follow specific structural rules. You can't just string signs together in English word order. Instead, ASL relies on a topic-comment structure where you establish the family member first, followed by your evaluation, opinion, or observation. Getting this right changes your signing from robotic vocabulary lists to natural, fluent conversation.
Understanding ASL Topic-Comment Structure for Family
In standard English, we often say things like, "My older sister is really stubborn." In ASL, sentence construction flips this order. You name the topic first—such as SISTER OLDER—and then provide your comment or description.
Your facial expressions carry critical grammatical weight during this process. When you name the family member, your eyebrows raise slightly to signal that this noun is the topic of your sentence. When you deliver your comment, your eyebrows lower and your head nods or tilts to emphasize the description.
- Establish the person: Raise your eyebrows, tilt your head slightly forward, and sign the relative's name or relationship.
- Pause briefly: Hold the final position of the topic sign for a fraction of a second to anchor it for your listener.
- Deliver the comment: Lower your eyebrows, use appropriate signing space, and express the description or opinion clearly.
Essential Vocabulary and Classifiers for Relatives
Describing family members effectively requires precise sign choices. Sign Naturally units emphasize using appropriate signs for age relationships, marital status, and physical traits rather than relying on fingerspelling for everything.
When discussing parents or siblings, remember that gender-related signs in ASL traditionally originate near the chin for female relatives and near the forehead for male relatives. Keep this spatial rule in mind as you build your vocabulary base.
- Immediate family signs: MOTHER, FATHER, SISTER, BROTHER, DAUGHTER, SON.
- Extended family signs: AUNT, UNCLE, COUSIN, GRANDMOTHER, GRANDFATHER.
- Descriptive modifiers: OLDER, YOUNGER, TALL, SHORT, STUBBORN, FRIENDLY, STRICT.
Using Non-Manual Behaviors to Show Emotion
You can't comment on family members neutrally all the time. Sometimes you're expressing affection, frustration, or humor. In spoken English, your tone of voice handles these nuances. In ASL, non-manual behaviors (NMBs) do the heavy lifting.
If you're expressing warmth or affection toward a family member, your body softens, your shoulders relax, and your facial expression mirrors warmth. Conversely, if you're describing a frustrating relative, your brows furrow and your signing tempo might shift to reflect your feelings.
For guidance on formal linguistics and linguistic structures of signed languages, check out resources from Gallaudet University.
Common Mistakes Students Make
Students working through Sign Naturally often fall into a few predictable traps when commenting on relatives. Recognizing these errors helps you fix them before they become permanent habits.
- Translating word-for-word from English: Trying to match English sentence structures instead of using ASL topic-comment grammar.
- Ignoring facial expressions: Signing descriptions with a completely blank face, which strips the sentence of its grammatical markers and emotional context.
- Incorrect signing space: Signing too low or too close to the body, making it difficult for the person across from you to read your signs clearly.
For broader educational standards and language acquisition frameworks, you can review guidelines provided by the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sign about family members who aren't present?
When talking about someone who isn't in the room, you use spatial referencing. Establish a specific location in your signing space for that family member during the introduction, and point back to that exact spot whenever you mention them again.
Why do eyebrows raise when signing family member topics?
Raised eyebrows serve as a grammatical marker in ASL. They signal to your conversational partner that you have introduced the topic and are about to provide a comment, description, or question about that specific person.
How can I practice topic-comment structure at home?
Pick five family members and write down simple English descriptions for each. Then, practice translating them into ASL by identifying the noun topic first, checking that your eyebrows raise on the topic, and dropping your brows for the descriptive comment.
