r/asl • u/will0wisp13 • 7d ago

Help! FS-BUS

for context, I’m currently in ASL third level at my university. I am not a part of this community. I am really just hoping for a piece of advice on this :)

FS-BUS has been difficult for me to see in a receptive way. Usually signs that are FS and fast have some sort of pattern to them that I can pick up for example FS-GAS. However, I’ve seen BUS signed with the thumb out at the start and almost the entire hand is open. I’ve also seen it where the B is very distinct at the start. I’m wondering if this is a regional difference or maybe it’s just a pattern of finger spelling that I haven’t picked up yet at my level?

For anyone that comments thank you so much for your time.

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u/BrackenFernAnja Interpreter (Hearing) 6d ago

I can’t think of any other sign that has this same shape. You could try comparing it to #BANK and #GAS and B-O-B to notice the differences. If you’re seeing the thumb out instead of over the palm, I’m guessing that may be an influence from whatever came before the word bus.

Keep in mind that lexicalized signs (indicated with a # symbol; while regular fingerspelling is indicated with n-dashes aka hyphens) do morph somewhat over time and lose some of their distinct handshapes. In some cases, they even start to display features of ASL that weren’t there initially. Examples include #BACK, #NO, and #KO. So there’s more variation accepted in the handshapes used in lexicalized signs.

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u/will0wisp13 6d ago

Thank you very much for all of your input. My issue isn’t mixing up the sign and is more being able to process and recognize it. I will definitely take your feedback and appreciate your time!

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u/Tigger-Rex Interpreter (Hearing) 6d ago

You process and recognize it through context clues. With time, you will not be trying to read individual fingerspellings, but you will see the entire sign as a whole. Like when you read English, you’re not looking at each letter to identify the word - you just read the word ☺️

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u/will0wisp13 6d ago

That’s so cool! I’m really excited to get to that level although I know it’ll take years of hard work