Makaton Topic - FINGERSPELLING ALPHABET - Singing Hands

For our #Makaton Topic series - here is the updated version of the #Fingerspelling #Alphabet.

Some very minor changes were introduced to the fingerspelling alphabet a little while ago at our #Makaton tutor training to make the spelling more uniform.



They are shown here - namely, the full-hand version of C, the full-hand version of P, the closed-hand S and the open-handed Y.



P & C are now only signed in the index/thumb version when they feature as part of a concept - eg. Pizza or Coffee. Same goes for the Y - full handed here for spelling and for Yellow, but non-dom hand index and thumb-shaped Y, with other fingers tucked away when signing Yoghurt.


Fingerspelling can be tricky and lots of people struggle with hand-swapping when spelling, so Suzanne has demonstrated the letters facing you, but also filmed it from the signer's view too to help you see the direction of movement. Please bear in mind this is a Right-handed version of the alphabet. If you are left-handed just switch round the dominance.



The best way to keep your dominance the same is to treat your non-dominant hand as your 'page' or the hand onto which your other hand makes the sign. Always use your dominant index fingers to do the pointing onto your non-dominant hand for the vowels and letter T - don't use your middle fingers or pinkies!



When you've cracked this - why not try and build up the sentence - MY + NAME IS + (first letter of your name)? And use some of the greetings signs in our other topic video:
   • Makaton Topic - GREETINGS - Singing Hands  



And we've got some alphabet songs on our DVDs - the fingerspelling is the old version with just those very slight differences, but they are great songs to practise along with. All the DVDs are available from our online shop (or downloadable from Vimeo & iTunes too).
https://singinghands.co.uk/product-ca...


Here are audio tracks of two of our favourite songs featuring the alphabet:

   • Abc Goodbye   - ABC Goodbye
   • A You're Adorable   - A You're Adorable


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For more information about Singing Hands, please visit:
http://www.singinghands.co.uk or email us [email protected]

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Makaton Fingerspelling alphabet
Happy signing! Thank you x