To sign *Ethiopia*, form an 'E' handshape with your dominant hand by curling your fingers in and resting them on your thumb. Raise your hand near the upper right side of your face or forehead, with your palm facing forward and slightly inward. From there, move your hand outward and slightly downward in a small, sweeping curve.
To sign this, point to yourself, sign 'want', 'visit', and then use the sweeping 'E' handshape near your face for 'Ethiopia'.
Sign 'Ethiopia', then 'have', 'beautiful', and 'mountains' to describe the country's scenery.
Point to your friend, sign 'from', and then perform the sign for 'Ethiopia'.
To sign this, point to yourself, sign 'want', 'visit', and then use the sweeping 'E' handshape near your face for 'Ethiopia'.
Sign 'Ethiopia', then 'have', 'beautiful', and 'mountains' to describe the country's scenery.
Point to your friend, sign 'from', and then perform the sign for 'Ethiopia'.
Like many country and city names in ASL, this sign is initialized. This means it incorporates the first letter of the English word 'Ethiopia' into the handshape. Initialization helps signers quickly distinguish this specific country from others.
No, your hand should remain slightly in front of and to the side of your face. The sweeping motion is done entirely in the air without making any physical contact with your head or forehead.
Yes! While this initialized ASL version is common, there is a growing movement to use native name signs. Many people now prefer the native sign from Ethiopian Sign Language (EthSL), which uses an 'A' handshape circling the face.
