How to fingerspell your name in Auslan

Spelling your name, letter by letter

Auslan uses a two-handed manual alphabet, shared with British Sign Language and New Zealand Sign Language. To fingerspell your name, you form each letter of it in turn. If you already know the Auslan alphabet, you already have everything you need.

Most people spell their first name when introducing themselves, and add their surname when the situation calls for it, with a short pause between the two so they read as separate names. Beyond that, the main thing that makes fingerspelling readable is rhythm: an even, unhurried pace is far easier to follow than a fast one. Speed arrives on its own once the letters are automatic, and chasing it early mostly costs you clarity.

Fingerspelling is only one tool within Auslan rather than a substitute for it. A 2007 pilot study of 2,667 utterances from 205 deaf signers found fingerspelling accounted for about 10% of the lexical items in its sample. Names are one of the jobs it does best.

A sign name is not the same as spelling your name

This is the part newcomers most often get wrong, and it’s worth getting right. A sign name is a single sign that stands for a particular person, used in place of spelling their name out every time. Fingerspelling and sign names are both normal parts of Auslan, but they are not interchangeable.

The important difference is where a sign name comes from. A sign name is given to you by Deaf people who know you. It is not something you pick for yourself, and inventing one for yourself is generally seen as inappropriate. It belongs to the Deaf community to give, and receiving one is a meaningful thing rather than an administrative step.

Until you are given a sign name, you fingerspell your name, and there is nothing lesser about doing so. Plenty of people spell their name for years. Learning to do it clearly is the useful goal; waiting for a sign name is not something you can rush, and asking for one is not how it works.

How to practise your own name

1. Learn the letters your name actually uses first. You don’t need all 26 to introduce yourself. Five or six letters, learned properly, get you further than a shaky pass at the whole alphabet.
2. Spell it slowly and evenly, not quickly. A steady rhythm is what makes fingerspelling readable. Speed follows on its own.
3. Watch yourself. Filming yourself on your phone and comparing it against a native signer shows you things a mirror won’t.
4. Practise reading it back, too. Understanding someone else’s fingerspelling is the harder skill, and the one most learners neglect. It’s a classic beginner mistake to practise only producing.
5. Learn from video, not diagrams. Fingerspelling has movement and rhythm that a static chart cannot show you.

Frequently asked questions

How do I fingerspell my name in Auslan?

Spell it one letter at a time using the two-handed Auslan alphabet, keeping a steady, even pace. Most people spell their first name when introducing themselves, adding their surname if the situation calls for it, with a short pause between the two. Aim for clarity rather than speed: fingerspelling that is smooth and evenly paced is much easier to read than fingerspelling that is rushed.

What is the difference between fingerspelling a name and a sign name?

Fingerspelling spells a name out letter by letter. A sign name is a single sign that stands for a particular person, used instead of spelling their name every time. Both are used in Auslan, but they are not the same thing: fingerspelling is something you can do from your first lesson, while a sign name is something the Deaf community gives you.

Can I choose my own sign name?

No. Sign names are given by Deaf people who know you, and giving one is theirs to do rather than yours to claim. Inventing a sign name for yourself is generally seen as inappropriate, and it is a common misunderstanding among new learners. Until you are given a sign name, fingerspelling your name is the right thing to do, and there is nothing lesser about it.

How do I fingerspell a name with an accent or an apostrophe?

The Auslan manual alphabet covers the 26 letters A to Z, so names containing accented characters or punctuation are commonly spelled using the closest A-Z letters: Zoë is usually spelled Z-O-E, and O'Brien as O-B-R-I-E-N. If the exact spelling matters, signers typically clarify it in conversation rather than through the alphabet itself.

Do I need to fingerspell my name every time I meet someone?

When you meet someone new, yes: fingerspelling your name is the usual way to introduce yourself. Within a group who already know you, people will use your sign name if you have been given one, or refer to you in other ways once your name has been established in the conversation.

Sources and further reading

The factual claims in this guide were checked against the following community, government and research sources.

• Sociolinguistic variation in the use of fingerspelling in Australian Sign Language: A pilot study — Schembri & Johnston, Sign Language Studies (2007)
• Australian Sign Language (Auslan): An introduction to sign language linguistics — Johnston & Schembri, Cambridge University Press (2007)
• History of Auslan: British origins and fingerspelling — Auslan Signbank

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