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American Sign Language:  "nature"


In American Sign Language as used by members of the American Deaf Community there are several ways to express the concept of "nature."  In surveys of Deaf people you will get a variety of responses.  Many will tell you to "spell it." Some will use the sign "NORMAL" to mean "nature." Others will use signs relating to nature to express the concept:  "OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE, TREES, PLANTS, VARIOUS." Thus the "right" way will depend on the circumstance.  If you are in a bilingual / bicultural environment such as a high-school mainstream classroom, an interpreter upon first usage of the concept "nature" in a conversation or discussion may choose to spell the word N-A-T-U-R-E show the sign for "NORMAL/natural" and, if needed, sign a few "nature related signs" (MOUNTAIN, TREES, PLANTS, etc.).  Upon subsequent usage in the same conversation or lecture the interpreter will tend to use only the fingerspelled word or only the sign "NORMAL." 
If the lecture involves several related concepts (normal/nature/naturally/of-course) the interpreter or signer will be more likely to fingerspell "N-A-T-U-R-E."
If two individuals are chatting in ASL and one of them wishes to express the concept, "I enjoy nature," he or she is actually more likely to sign something to the effect of:
"I ENJOY CAMP(ing)."
"FOREST, I ENJOY WALK-("stroll")."
Thus the concept of "nature" becomes expressed via the specific aspect of nature.


NATURE:  Sample expression:

Note: The video above is an example of how one of the people surveyed showed how she would sign the concept of "nature." In this example the individual used the signs: natural, bird, tree, river, diversity-(throughout).






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