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Orange in Sign Language – Video & Image Included

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Lead Academy
3 Mins Read

Today we’ll learn the word Orange in sign language. In English, the word refers both to the citrus fruit and the colour. The same is true for French, German and Hungarian etc. Interestingly, although American Sign Language or ASL and British Sign Language or BSL aren’t related, both have a single sign for orange- the fruit and the colour.

This is not the case with all languages, however. The Dutch people refer to the colour as ‘Oranje.’ However, they call the fruit ‘Sinasapel.’ Some sign languages also follow the same suit. So check whether the sign language you’re learning has this caveat.

Orange in Sign Language Alphabet

Let’s briefly discuss some points before we delve into our main topic today. The first is the fact that BSL is a two-handed language. You may be wondering, “What does that mean?” Let’s explain.

In BSL, we consider both our hands to be the pen and the paper. If your dominant hand is your right hand, then that’s your pen. So, naturally, your non-dominant hand or the left hand is the paper. When you sign BSL signs, it’ll look as if you’re writing something on your non-dominant hand.

Consider BSL signs in contrast to ASL signs, where we use only one hand for all the signs.

However, not all words in BSL are signed using two hands. We will sign the word ‘orange,’ for instance, with just one hand.

The second is the fact that sign languages are purely visual. So, visibility is a major consideration for this type of language. If your audience doesn’t see you clearly, it’ll be like talking while keeping a hand tightly on your mouth. Nobody is going to hear or understand your muffled, unclear pronunciation.

Check out the difference between ASL and BSL.

Another important thing tied to this point is since some gestures closely resemble some offensive gestures we use alongside spoken language, if your audience clearly sees you, you won’t risk being misunderstood.

So let’s get to our main topic now.

Now follow these steps described below

BSL tutor seated in a room with a blue background

1. Start with a normal posture

BSL tutor seated in a room with a blue baackground with his right hand raised

2. Raise your dominant hand in front of your mouth.

3. Keep an ‘O’ shape with your hand while raising it. Take a look at the image above. It looks as if the man in the picture is holding a ball or an orange. You’ll essentially be doing the same.

BSL tutor seated in a room with a blue background with his right hand raised and slightly curled

4. Now squeeze that invisible orange in your hand a few times. It doesn’t matter how many times you squeeze it. Repeat the gesture just enough times for your audience to clearly see and understand what you’re doing.

5. Say the word ‘orange’ while doing the sign.

Conclusion

So, that’s how we say Orange in sign language. Again, this word refers to both the fruit and the colour in BSL. One thing we haven’t mentioned before is the fact that conversations become much more lively and enjoyable if you can keep a lovely smile on your face while communicating. It’s true for sign language too. You may not be speaking verbally, but sign language to benefit from the connection that occurs between all the parties in a conversation. Practise regularly to cement the sign in your memory so you won’t need to keep referring back to this tutorial.

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