"Sorry"
This shows the sign for "sorry:" Either the "S" or the "A" handshape, palm in, circles over the heart. Shake your head "no" at the same time to mean, "No, sorry." Better make your face look sorry or it will mean "not-sorry!"
"Jeff"
-------J--------------------E-------------------F-------------------F
English names are fingerspelled in ASL. Deaf people will give other people an ASL nickname, but it is usually related to that person's appearance or habits, rather than their English name. You can't just say, "How do you sign my name in ASL?" -- two people with the same English name will likely have entirely different ASL nicknames. And generally, those nicknames are given to people by others, not chosen for themselves. Be prepared: Deaf people often are not big on euphemisms. Appelations that English speakers might consider insulting (or more appropriate to a Mafia figure) are okay in ASL. The ASL equivalent of "Scarface" is the perfectly respectful name for Laurent Clerc, the first Deaf teacher in the America.
"he"
This "he" is essential -- it defines the place in the signing space that will mean "Jeff" for the rest of the conversation. While signing "J-E-F-F, he" you raise your eyebrows to indicate that this is the topic of the sentence. Then pause for a fraction of a second to communicate that the next signs will be a comment on the topic "Jeff."
"your"
"nurse"
"him."
(Not all signers will repeat the pronoun at the end to emphasize the topic of the sentence this way.)
"I-summon-him."
The dominant hand, palm down, taps the back of the non-dominant hand, then draws back while closing. The non-dominant hand may be either open or closed in a fist, but is oriented palm down.
"Summon" is a directional verb. While forming the sign, you also move your hands in a direction that indicates who is summoning whom. In this sentence, you would start with your hands in the same point you have already defined as "Jeff," then draw your dominant hand back to yourself at the end of the sign to show that you are summoning Jeff. By incorporating this directional movement in the verb, you also imply the pronouns (and don't have to repeat them separately). The movie, unfortunately, can't show this.
The future tense is understood here -- assuming you are going to get Jeff immediately. If that is not the case, you define the future tense by preceding "I-summon-him" with a description of when you will do it ("In-a-minute I-summon him," "Happen I-see-him I-summon-him," etc.)
Movies and .gif images displayed on this page are links to the American Sign Language Browser ©2000 Michigan State University Communication Technology Laboratory. All rights reserved.
Text of this page ©2000 Eileen K. Carpenter, MD