To sign "being"—referring to a living being, person, or individual—start by holding both hands in front of your chest in flat "B" handshapes. Your palms should be facing each other, with your fingers pointing straight forward and slightly spaced apart. From this starting position, move both hands straight down a few inches in a smooth, deliberate motion, as if you are outlining the sides of a person's torso. This is the exact same sign used for the word "person."
To express this, you can sign "EVERY", "HUMAN", and then use the downward motion of "BEING" (which also means person), followed by the signs for "DESERVE" and "RESPECT".
To sign this concept, you would sign "OCEAN", "HAVE", "MANY", "LIVE", and then use the downward motion for "BEING" to represent the living creatures or individuals residing there.
Point to the person to indicate "SHE", sign "VERY", "GENTLE", and finish with the downward motion for "BEING" to show that you are referring to her as an individual.
To express this, you can sign "EVERY", "HUMAN", and then use the downward motion of "BEING" (which also means person), followed by the signs for "DESERVE" and "RESPECT".
To sign this concept, you would sign "OCEAN", "HAVE", "MANY", "LIVE", and then use the downward motion for "BEING" to represent the living creatures or individuals residing there.
Point to the person to indicate "SHE", sign "VERY", "GENTLE", and finish with the downward motion for "BEING" to show that you are referring to her as an individual.
No, it is not. In American Sign Language, state-of-being verbs like "am," "is," "are," and "being" are generally omitted because ASL establishes context without them. The sign shown here is strictly used when "being" acts as a noun, such as when referring to a "human being" or a "living being."
Yes, absolutely! This is the exact same sign used for the words "person" and "individual." Because the sign visually represents the outline of a figure, it is the standard way to refer to a human entity or a distinct living creature in ASL.
Because ASL grammar does not use "to be" verbs, you would not use this sign in that context. Instead of signing the English words "He is being nice," you would simply sign "HE NICE" or "HE ACT NICE." ASL focuses on conveying the core meaning and action rather than translating English grammar word-for-word.
