To sign reaction, form both hands into 'R' handshapes by crossing your middle fingers over your index fingers. Position your dominant hand near your chin, with your non-dominant hand slightly lower and further forward. Move both hands forward simultaneously in a quick, deliberate motion. The movement represents a response coming from you toward someone or something else.
To sign this, point to the person to indicate 'her', sign 'reaction', and then sign 'what'. Make sure to furrow your eyebrows at the end, which is the grammatical marker for a 'wh-' question in ASL.
Start by signing 'medicine', then point to yourself for 'I', sign 'reaction', and finish with 'bad'. Use a negative or disgusted facial expression when signing 'bad' to clearly convey your experience.
Point to the person for 'his', sign 'reaction', and then sign 'funny' near your nose. Add a smile or a lighthearted facial expression to match the positive, humorous tone of the sentence.
To sign this, point to the person to indicate 'her', sign 'reaction', and then sign 'what'. Make sure to furrow your eyebrows at the end, which is the grammatical marker for a 'wh-' question in ASL.
Start by signing 'medicine', then point to yourself for 'I', sign 'reaction', and finish with 'bad'. Use a negative or disgusted facial expression when signing 'bad' to clearly convey your experience.
Point to the person for 'his', sign 'reaction', and then sign 'funny' near your nose. Add a smile or a lighthearted facial expression to match the positive, humorous tone of the sentence.
They are very closely related! The sign for 'reaction' uses 'R' handshapes, which makes it an initialized version of 'respond'. In many contexts, the signs look identical because 'respond' is also commonly signed with 'R' hands moving forward.
No, physical contact is not required. Your dominant hand should simply start in the space just in front of your chin or mouth before moving forward. Touching the face might make the sign feel clunky.
This sign is best used for a person's emotional, verbal, or physical reaction to an event. For a chemical reaction in a science class, ASL often uses specific classifiers (like 'C' or '5' handshapes bubbling up) to visually show the substances interacting.
