>From:    Lizabeth G Stanley <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Sign Language
>I have a quick question... my mother will be undergoing a procedure in
>a few months which will require that she not speak for 3 months.  In
>preparation she is learning sign language so that she can still give me
>guilt trips :)  Does anyone know if there is an official sign for ferret?
 
I don't know how "official" it is, but being in the DC area of Galludet
University (University for deaf and hearing impaired students) and having
several Deaf people adopt ferrets from me, AND having two deaf employees,
I have been taught this sign for ferret....
 
left arm at the horizontal across your midriff, right #1 and #2 fingers
"hop" together up the left arm from the wrist to the elbow (your knuckles
are the ferret's hump, and the fingers are the front two legs).  You'll
need to introduce the sign first with fingerspelling, but there is no other
sign like it in the ASL dictionary.  This is what I was taught by the Deaf
community here and I think it is a charming sign - very appropriate.
 
Nan's sign is used a lot by people wanting to know what the animal is I'm
holding.  I still like the hopping sign because it is unique.   Hi Nan!
 
Pam T.
[Posted in FML issue 2768]