手语 (shoŭyŭ、 sign language)

A couple of weeks ago I noticed three people using sign language at a bus stop and last weekend got the chance to learn a few words. Chinese sign language is quite different from ASL – it seems to be based on the characters. It reminded me of the Chinese habit of drawing characters in the air to clarify words, when people are learning someone’s name or when they are speaking with someone who has a much different accent. 你好(nĭhăo) (hello, lit. you good)– point to the person, then give a thumb’s up. 我(wŏ, I/me), point to self. 吗(ma, the question particle), like drawing a question mark in the air. 想(xiăng, think or desire), twirl finger beside head. Very cool.