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I in Sign Language – Video & Image Included

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Lead Academy
3 Mins Read

Today we’ll learn the letter I in sign language. The sign language alphabet is known as the manual alphabet, and the way we sign letters is referred to as fingerspelling. This alphabet differs slightly from the alphabets of spoken languages.

On top of that, add to the equitation the fact that the British Sign Language alphabet is two-handed. Still not clear? No worries.

Before we get into today’s main topic, let’s talk about it quickly.

Fingerspelling

You can spell words by moving your hands while you fingerspell. They are excellent for communicating because of their flexibility.

In sign language, the fingerspelling alphabet is used to spell out names of individuals and locations for which there is no symbol. Also, we utilise fingerspelling to spell terms that are unfamiliar to us or the person we are speaking with.

The way we spell any letter of the alphabet using the fingerspelling method is called the manual alphabet.

However, each sign language has a unique approach. There isn’t a single, effective way to do it. American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) have different signs for the letter “I.” ASL, I include a one-handed sign. However, BSL stands out as an exception. To finish it, you’ll need both hands.

Imagine if your hands as paper and a pen. The pen will be in your dominant hand, and the paper will be in your non-dominant hand (sometimes referred to as the base hand). You’ll sign anything with your fingerspelled signature and write on paper with your pen hand. Therefore, it is how the BSL manual alphabet functions.

It’s also important to keep in mind that “I” can be used as a pronoun. It is a nominative pronoun, which means that it can be used as a predicate nominative or as the subject of a sentence. For example, “I went to the store’.

Today, we’ll only deal with BSL in this scenario. So let’s get to the point of our discussion.

I in Sign Language Alphabet

What is the sign of I?

We have a whole video focused on the I sign. Please first watch it.

Watch how to sign ‘I’ in British Sign Language

Please follow the instructions given below to continue.

Male instructor sitting still in a room with a blue background

1. Start with a normal posture.

Male tutor seated in a room with a blue background, using his right hand to point himself and curled up in a fist

2. Refer to yourself by hand.

3. Pronounce the letter I while doing the sign.

So, that’s the first version of the word. Let’s now see the second version. This is the two-handed version of the word.

Female tutor is sitting in a room with a light blue background and a normal posture

1. Start with a normal posture again.

Female tutor showing how to sign I using both index fingers

2. Place the middle finger of the left hand with the index finger of the right hand.
3. Remember to say the word when you’re signing it.

Conclusion

So that’s how we sign the letter I with our fingers. Keep a smile on your face when speaking. If you can make the other person comfortable, non-verbal communication, like sign language, is far more effective because it will be simpler for them to maintain consistent eye contact. To avoid your sign being misunderstood as offensive, make yourself easily visible to the person you are speaking with.

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