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The Handshapes of American Sign Language
Manual Alphabet Handshapes

The handshapes on this page are used to produce almost all of the signs of ASL.
Some handshapes are also used to produce signs that represent letters of the English alphabet.

These signs are used to "spell" English words - this is called Fingerspelling.

Some handshapes are used to produce a special group of signs called "classifiers".
Classifiers are signs that represent nouns.

ASL has an extensive classifier system used to represent:

whole objects
surfaces
perimeters
use of the noun
degree or extent
on-surface

Handshape is always paired with Movement to create the classifier

The Handshapes of American Sign Language Manual Alphabet Handshapes
	The handshapes on this page are used to produce almost all of the signs of ASL. Some handshapes are also used to produce signs that represent letters of the English alphabet. These signs are used to "spell" English words - this is called Fingerspelling.
	Some handshapes are used to produce a special group of signs called "classifiers". Classifiers are signs that represent nouns. ASL has an extensive classifier system used to represent: whole objects surfaces perimeters use of the noun degree or extent on-surface Handshape is always paired with Movement to create the classifier