The Alphabet and Fingerspelling in British Sign Language (BSL)

Do you want to learn British Sign Language (BSL)? Start here! In this video, Dan demonstrates how to sign the alphabet in BSL for both right-handers and left-handers. Fingerspelling is an important tool and is perhaps the first thing you should learn in BSL.

Other aspects of fingerspelling are also covered including: which hand to use, swapping hands, where to hold your hands and what your lip pattern should be when fingerspelling.

Put your fingerspelling receptive skills to the test with a quiz at the end of the video. Ten words are spelled; five are with lip patterns and five without making it more difficult. Good luck!

Learn British Sign Language (BSL) for free with Commanding Hands. Subscribe to us on YouTube for more content.

Commanding Hands aims to provide free learning resources to help everyone learn British Sign Language (BSL). We believe access to learning BSL is a basic right for people in the UK. Our content will always be free-to-access in some format.

Video Timestamps:
00:32 Right-handed alphabet
02:07 Left-handed alphabet
03:38 Which hand to use?
04:00 Swapping hands
04:33 Where to hold your hands
04:54 Lip patterns
05:21 Receptive quiz
07:40 Quiz answers
07:53 Thanks for watching

#BritishSignLanguage #BSL

[zacthechamp]

Im completely new to learning bsl and this video has helped me so much so i just wanted to say thank you!!

[catbevis]

Thank you for doing these videos. Let me tell you a little story:
I grew up near a very prestigious private school for hearing-impaired children in the UK. When I was a teenager I decided I wanted to be a BSL interpreter and my Dad, relenting from wanting me to be a doctor/lawyer/etc, decided that despite it not paying well as a career it was a worthwhile thing to do with my life, so he agreed to pay for me to have lessons (this involved quite a bit of soul-searching for him, it was a bit of a climbdown!). He set me up an informal chat with one of the senior teachers from the private school, just to find out the best way for me to learn BSL, career potential etc etc. Instead, the teacher told me that they no longer wished the kids to use BSL, and "hopefully" within 20yrs it would be a "dead language" because "all deaf children need to learn to communicate in the REAL world". This, I remind you, was a teacher from a very prestigious fee-paying school specifically for deaf children. She "HOPED" their language would be gone, and she considered only the hearing community to be living in the "REAL" world. I was angry with her attitude then, and I still feel angry 25yrs later. But I thought she knew best so I never pursued it. It's always been my biggest regret and I'm trying to make up for lost time now.
[I've just looked up the school, it is still their policy not to use BSL. I understand the reasoning, but the wording that particular teacher used with me was NOT acceptable]

[thearcticfox]

this is a great video, most tutorials on how to sign the alphabet do it from the pov of the person signing it, which doesn't really help at all.

[jeryth]

Thank you for explaining that hand swapping is not allowed. I am going to have to re-learn as I learned fingerspelling when I was about 8or 9 but have swapped and changed hands all the time. I am left handed and over 50 so that's my excuse. I shall try to remember that my dominant hand is the pen; that is so useful, thank you

[LyndaAlsford]

Thank you for this. I learnt finger spelling many years ago at school (now 61 so a long time ago). But I am trying to refresh. I always got confused about left or right handed. But thinking of it as a paper and pen was really helpful. I am hopeless at reading it back though. I need more practice at that.

[pNsB]

Thanks to you, I'm really getting the hang of it! I'm just hoping to be able to read fingerspelling (and signs in general) a bit quicker. Getting there, though!

[craftyolcodger]

Not gonna lie.... Between you and another guy I've followed, you've both got me through BSL L1 & Lets get on with L3 !. Thank you.

[embb]

One thing I would find helpful personally is a First Person look at these since mirrors flip things and I would like to know by looking at my own hands if I’m making a mistake more easily

[sparkisambora]

Thank you for including Left handers! ❤

[tdancemovement]

Thank you for these refreshing reminders !!

[alexcreighton]

I’m learning so much, helping me communicate with people. Thank you so much!!

[akv]

Thank you for this... I'm teaching 30 children to sign the alphabet as I know it but have always wondered how you present it to spell to another person ❤❤❤

[aduck]

I really love your videos, I'm trying to learn BSL at the moment. I'm a software developer but the only video I've seen on how to say software developer wasn't clear to me, is there any chance you could demonstrate it? I find your videos very useful in the way you show the signs exactly as they are and slow enough to really grasp. Thanks!

[willswomble]

Please tell me what the point of BSL is, do USA, China, Spain, Australia and other major countries use it or understand it? By the way I am LEFT HANDED!

[samwilson]

Please can you show us what it looks like to make a mistake while finger spelling and correct it? Sometimes I wish I had a backspace key!

[Ksicaricaeli]

Hello. Thank you for such great tutorials on BSL. They have a lot of clarity and a flow of learning I was searching for.
However, I just have a doubt. I'm not able to understand that the signing shown in the video, is it like a mirror? As in your left hand is my right hand or is it like your right is my right??
I apologise if this seems like a silly doubt but please do help.

[shafamammadzada]

I cheated in quiz, you was too fast and I reduce speed to 0.5x for gainig time and remembering letters😅
Btw, your channel is very helpful. I'm sure I can learn it by myself with your channel❤

[channi_xx]

These are all so different to the sheet they give in the BSL course

[Ssvante]

Bro it took me 10 mins to figure out the purple one lol

[bethany]

does it matter if I do it right handed or left handed??