Month: July 2026

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BACK TO THE BARN

The House for Farm Animals and Storage for Grains.
My ASL Dictionary cartoon of a Farm Girl in a classic Amish dress, showing the ASL hand signs for BARN and FARM HOUSE.

Fingerspell BARN
OR
The Fingertips of the B hands, palms facing each other, are placed together at an angle. The hands are then drawn apart, straightened and pulled down, outlining the Roof and Walls of a BARN.
OR
The thumb of 5 hand slides across the chin, FARM hand sign,
then the fingertips of both B hands outline the Roof and Walls of a Barn.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #barn #farmhouse #myasldictionary

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AT THE STORE

For the purchase of supplies, essentials, treats and specialty items, there is always a Store, the Home for Business.

My ASL Dictionary has a cartoon of a Store Manager illustrating the ASL hand signs for STORE.

The flattened O hands bend forward at the wrist twice, like a clerk showing off the merchandise.
The hand sign for the verb for SELL is a single movement.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #store #myasldictionary

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SUMMER CAMP

Another Home for Vacation is a Tent in the Woods for Camping. The Girl Scouts is a youth organization for girls focused on personal growth, leadership, and community service. Their programs offer day camps, resident camps, and countless outdoor adventures and activities.

In My ASL Dictionary, there is a cartoon of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of America (with a short biography of her accomplishments beside her as a figure in Deaf History), illustrating the ASL hand signs for CAMP, CAMPING, and TENT.

The tips of the Index finger, Pinkie finger, and Thumb touch, move apart, and touch again, like setting up a tent on its poles.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #camp #tent #myasldictionary

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OFFICE SPACE

Many Jobs involve working away from Home. An office building is filled with small rooms, suites, and cubicles for administrative work or professional tasks.

For an update to My ASL Dictionary, a 2022 cartoon of a Businesswoman shows the ASL hand sign for OFFICE.

Fingerspell OFFICE
OR
Palms in, the Right O hand held in front of the opposite O hand in front of chest. The hands then swing outward at the wrists as the palms face each other, mimicking the shape of a box.
Similar movement to the ROOM hand sign.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #office #myasldictionary

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HAPPINESS HOTEL

While travelling on a Vacation, a Hotel becomes a Home away from Home, with a single room offering amenities such as restaurants, room service, housekeeping, a fitness center and event spaces.

My ASL Dictionary cartoon of a Hotel Clerk illustrates the ASL hand sign for HOTEL.

The H hand bends backward on the opposite index finger twice, a visual for a flashing Hotel sign.
Similar to the FLAG hand sign.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #hotel #myasldictionary

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GOD’S HOUSE

A Church is the House of Christian Faith, the building carved in stone, the spiritual family of the Believers in Christ, and the place of public worship.
A faith followed by Clergy Pioneers Father Charles-Michel de l’Épée, who founded the first free school for the Deaf in Paris in 1760 and Minister Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who co-founded the first permanent school for the Deaf in the United States in 1817.

My ASL Dictionary cartoon of a young Pastor showing the ASL hand sign for CHURCH.

The thumb of the C hand taps the back of the opposite S hand twice.
An initialized sign for ROCK connecting to the scripture of Jesus speaking to Peter. “You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my Church”. (Matthew 16:18)

#ASL #americansignlanguage #church #myasldictionary

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A NEW FLAT

The first home is rarely a House. Many new residents begin their independence by renting a small unit in a large building complex.
The term Apartment comes from the French appartement and Italian appartamento, meaning “separated place“.

My ASL Dictionary cartoon of a Ginger-haired Graduate Student shows the ASL hand signs for APARTMENT.

Fingerspell APT
OR
Flat hand rests on opposite open palm as the fingers bend sideways at the knuckles, a visual of the small home inside a large building.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #apartment #myasldictionary

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CITY SCAPE

A single House is a Home; three houses make a Hamlet, ten houses make a Neighbourhood, a thousand houses make a Town, and with growth beyond that, you have a City—a large, densely populated Settlement of multi-story buildings and advanced urban design.

My ASL Dictionary’s 2012 cartoon of a Construction Worker shows multiple ASL hand signs for CITY.

The fingertips of the Flat Hands tap each other twice, a visual for the multiple roofs in a city.
OR
The fingertips of the Flat Hands touch, then open and touch again as the hands move to the side, a visual of a landscape of multiple buildings.
OR
The fingertips of the Flat Hands tap each other as
Palms facing each other, the Flat Hands rotate back and forth as they move to the side, like a visual silhouette of the multiple buildings.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #city #myasldictionary

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THIS OLD HOUSE

While a Home is made with Family, Houses have been built with stone, wood, steel, and prairie turf. Over generations of housebuilding, the basic framework remains the same: Four walls and a Roof.

My ASL Dictionary cartoon of a Farmer in Blue Plaid, showing the ASL hand sign for HOUSE.

The Fingertips of the B hands, palms facing each other, are placed together at an angle. The hands are then drawn apart, straightened and pulled down, the visual of the Roof and Walls of a House.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #house #myasldictionary

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BUILDING CODES

From a Castle forged in Bricks, a House made of Logs, an Igloo packed in Ice and Snow, or a Fort made of Pillows, Skilled Builders are as essential as the constructs they create for Families, Businesses and Kingdoms.

For the act of construction and its finished structure, My ASL Dictionary cartoon of a Construction Worker illustrating the ASL hand sign for BUILD and BUILDING.

Overlapping Bent B hands move up to alternate being placed on top of each other, a visual for building floors on top of each other.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #build #building #myasldictionary