January 29, 1999

Practicing spelling my name in American Sign Language is not that easy, but at least I don't have to worry about mangling the lingo with traces of my New Jersey accent.

The "fingerspelling dictionary" at http://where.com/scott.net/asl/ is a good start, using crisp animated illustrations to show how to sign from A (fingers closed on palm) to Z (a squiggle sketched out with thumb and forefinger).

For a broader vocabulary, consult http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/; its illustrations of letter signs can be a little fuzzy, but it offers an extensive dictionary of gestures for entire words, including such recent additions as "Wayne Gretzky."
—
Rob Pegoraro rob@twp.com