American Sign Language: "or" I generally express the concept of "or" by shifting my body from one side to the other. I call this a bodyshift." You don't go back and forth, you just shift one time while using a facial expression that expresses the concept of "or." This "bodyshift" movement is a "nonmanual marker" (it expresses a meaning, but it doesn't require "hands"). Suppose you were asking me, "YOU WANT PIZZA OR HAMBURGER, WHICH?" Instead of signing one of the versions of "or" shown below, you could instead just use a "bodyshift." You'd sign, "YOU WANT" in the normal position, then as you signed PIZZA, you'd sort of lean a bit to your right, then when you signed "HAMBURGER" you'd lean a bit to your left. This is ASL at its finest! If the person you are signing to is awake, you shouldn't even need to sign "WHICH" at the end of the sentence, but it doesn't hurt to add "which" if you want to convey that the person has to "choose one or the other." OR-[bodyshift] Sample sentence: Do you prefer pizza or burgers? Another common way to sign "OR" is to sign the letters "O-R." "Or" is a short little word, so it is very quick and easy to just spell it. O-R: Quite a few people use the sign for "then" to mean "or." It has to do with the idea of presenting choices. Imagine someone saying "this or that" as they first touch their thumb, and then their index finger. THEN = "or" There is an initialized version of the sign "then" that means "or." Most adult native Deaf consider the initialized version to be Signed English, and prefer to instead use the sign for "then," bodyshift, or fingerspell "O-R." This version is "not recommended" if you are taking an ASL test. OR (initialized version) Want to help support ASL University? It's easy: DONATE (Thanks!) (You don't need a PayPal account. Just look for the credit card logos and click continue.) Another way to help is to buy something from the ASLU "Bookstore." Want even more ASL resources? Visit the "ASL Training Center!" (Subscription Extension of ASLU) CHECK IT OUT > Bandwidth slow? Check out "ASLUniversity.com" (a free mirror of Lifeprint.com less traffic, fast access) VISIT > You can learn sign language (ASL) online at American Sign Language University ™ Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars

American Sign Language: "or"

I generally express the concept of "or" by shifting my body from one side to the other. I call this a bodyshift." You don't go back and forth, you just shift one time while using a facial expression that expresses the concept of "or."

This "bodyshift" movement is a "nonmanual marker" (it expresses a meaning, but it doesn't require "hands").

Suppose you were asking me, "YOU WANT PIZZA OR HAMBURGER, WHICH?"

Instead of signing one of the versions of "or" shown below, you could instead just use a "bodyshift." You'd sign, "YOU WANT" in the normal position, then as you signed PIZZA, you'd sort of lean a bit to your right, then when you signed "HAMBURGER" you'd lean a bit to your left. This is ASL at its finest! If the person you are signing to is awake, you shouldn't even need to sign "WHICH" at the end of the sentence, but it doesn't hurt to add "which" if you want to convey that the person has to "choose one or the other."

OR-[bodyshift]

Sample sentence: Do you prefer pizza or burgers?

Another common way to sign "OR" is to sign the letters "O-R."
"Or" is a short little word, so it is very quick and easy to just spell it.

O-R:

Quite a few people use the sign for "then" to mean "or." It has to do with the idea of presenting choices. Imagine someone saying "this or that" as they first touch their thumb, and then their index finger.

THEN = "or"

There is an initialized version of the sign "then" that means "or." Most adult native Deaf consider the initialized version to be Signed English, and prefer to instead use the sign for "then," bodyshift, or fingerspell "O-R."

This version is "not recommended" if you are taking an ASL test.

OR (initialized version)

Want to help support ASL University? It's easy: DONATE (Thanks!)
(You don't need a PayPal account. Just look for the credit card logos and click continue.)

Another way to help is to buy something from the ASLU "Bookstore."

Want even more ASL resources? Visit the "ASL Training Center!" (Subscription Extension of ASLU) CHECK IT OUT >

Bandwidth slow? Check out "ASLUniversity.com" (a free mirror of Lifeprint.com less traffic, fast access) VISIT >