Two-handed manual alphabets

Short description: Part of a deaf sign language

Several manual alphabets in use around the world employ two hands to represent some or all of the letters of an alphabet, usually as a part of a deaf sign language. Two-handed alphabets are less widespread than one-handed manual alphabets. They may be used to represent the Latin alphabet (for example in the manual alphabet used in Turkish Sign Language) or the Cyrillic alphabet (as is sometimes used in Yugoslav Sign Language).

## Contents

* 1 BANZSL alphabet
* 1.1 Notes
* 2 BANZSL deafblind alphabet
* 3 Turkish manual alphabet
* 4 Yugoslav manual alphabet
* 5 Other two-handed manual alphabets
* 6 Other deafblind alphabets
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## BANZSL alphabet

This alphabet is used in the BANZSL group of sign languages. It has been used in British Sign Language and Auslan since at least the 19th century, and in New Zealand Sign Language since the 1970s. Variations of this alphabet are also used in dialects of Indo-Pakistani Sign Language.

This chart shows the BANZSL alphabet.

### Notes

* Signs may be made with the left or right hand as the dominant hand, but the roles do not usually switch when fingerspelling. The dominant hand generally acts as a pointer (or "pen") while the secondary hand acts as "paper".
* The vowels A, E, I, O and U are formed by touching each digit respectively, starting with the thumb.
* The letters C, D, J, K, P, Q, T, V, X, and Y make the shape of the letter itself.
* The letters B, F, G, L, M, N, R, S, and W suggest the shape of the letter.
* The letters G, L and R suggest only the lowercase form of the letter.
* Only the letters H and Z do not have a strong relation to their shape or position in the alphabet.
* Many letters appear backwards (for example, in right-handed fingerspelling, R and D often appears backwards to the viewer). This is not a mistake or a problem, and your signing does not need to be adjusted to compensate.

## BANZSL deafblind alphabet

This section appears to contradict itself on how to sign Y and Z (text vs video). Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2025)

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This is a variation on the above alphabet, modified for tactile use by those communicating with people who are deafblind.

The sender holds the wrist of the receiver. The receiver's hand is relaxed, with the palm open and fingers slightly apart. The signer uses their dominant hand like a pen to sign on the non-dominant hand of the receiver. Fluent users simply pause briefly between words, but it is acceptable for beginners to denote spaces by squeezing the wrist of the receiver to distinguish these from hesitant pauses. AEIOU are the pads of each finger, beginning with the thumb.

right

BANZSL "A" is signed on the tip of the thumb

The fingers and thumb are held together to form half of the BANZSL "B" and placed on the palm

Draw your finger along the edge of the thumb and up the index finger, alternatively the direction of the sweep can be reversed

The signer forms half of the BANZSL "D" with their dominant hand and places it against the recessive hand of the receiver; an alternative is to use the index and middle finger placed against the recessive hand

BANZSL "E" is signed on the tip of the index finger

Half of the BANZSL "F" is signed either on the palm or on the top of the receiver's index finger

Half of the BANZSL "G" is signed on the palm

BANZSL "H" is signed across the palm

BANZSL "I" is signed on the tip of the middle finger

BANZSL "J" is signed on the hand of the receiver

Half of the BANZSL "K" is signed on the first knuckle of the index finger

BANZSL "L" is signed on the palm

BANZSL "M" is signed on the palm

BANZSL "N" is signed on the palm

BANZSL "O" is signed on the tip of the ring finger

Pinch the pad and nail of the index finger (P for pinch)

Hook your curled index finger around the thumb

BANZSL "R" is signed on the palm

Hook your curled index finger around the little finger

BANZSL "T" is signed on the receiver's hand

BANZSL "U" is signed on the tip of the little finger

BANZSL "V" is signed on the palm

There are three ways to do this; all are acceptable, but your receiver might not know them all:

* Interlace your fingers with theirs
* Grab all their fingers from the side (if your hand is folded over, their index finger lies across the first knuckles of your hand)
* Grab their fingers from the top (if your hand is folded over, their fingertips lie across the first knuckles of your hand)

Half of the BANZSL "X" is signed on the index finger

The index finger is used to sign a BANZSL "Y" on the hand of the receiver

The side of the palm is placed on the palm of the receiver

## Turkish manual alphabet

Current Directions in Turkish Sign Language Research, p. 72, at Google Books

## Yugoslav manual alphabet

Some signs are modeled after letters of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, others after Gaj's Latin alphabet, or stem from other sources. [1] [2]

## Other two-handed manual alphabets

Czech Sign Language also uses a two-handed manual alphabet.[1]: 125

## Other deafblind alphabets

From "Deafblind Manual Alphabet", on Deafblind Information, Senses Australia (links added):

"Variations of this alphabet is used in some dialects of Indo-Pakistani Sign Language.

"Other forms of manual deafblind alphabet are used around the world - eg. The Lorm Deafblind Manual Alphabet (Belgium).[2] In some countries, eg. Sweden, the one-handed alphabet used is modified by applying the shape of the letter into the hand of the person who is deafblind at a different angle, making the shape easier to feel."

## References

1. ↑ Leeson, Lorraine; Sheridan, Sarah; Cannon, Katie; Murphy, Tina; Newman, Helen; Veldheer, Heidi (2020-09-24). "Hands in Motion : Learning to Fingerspell in Irish Sign Language (ISL)" (in en). TEANGA, the Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics 11. ISSN 2565-6325. https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/199.
2. ↑ The Lorm Deafblind Manual Alphabet

## External links

* British Fingerspelling keyboard

Template:Manual alphabet

* v
* t
* e

Sign language

* List of sign languages
* List by number of signers

Language families[a]|

Sign languages by family

Aboriginal
Australian|

* Eltye eltyarrenke
* Iltyeme iltyeme
* Rdaka rdaka
* Manjiljarra
* Warlmanpa
* Warramunga
* Mudburra
* Ngada
* Umpila
* Western Desert
* Western Torres Strait Islander
* Yan-nhaŋu
* Yir Yoront
* Yolŋu
* Djingili
* Meriam
* Miriwoong
* Worora Kinship

Arab Sign|

* Egyptian
* Kuwaiti
* Libyan
* Qatari Unified
* Yemeni

| Iraqi–
Levantine|

* Iraqi
* Levantine Arabic
* Jordanian
* Lebanese
* Palestinian
* Syrian

|

Possible|

* Emirati
* Saudi
* Omani

BANZSL|

* Auslan
* Papua New Guinean
* BSL
* Northern Ireland
* Fijian
* MSL
* NZSL
* Sāmoan
* SASL

| Swedish|

* EriSL
* Finland-Swedish
* Portuguese
* Teckenspråk
* Viittomakieli

|

Francosign|

* Proto-LSF

* Algerian
* DSGS
* Eesti viipekeel
* Irish
* Australian-Irish
* Libras
* Lithuanian
* LSC
* LSV
* LSCh
* LSF
* Romanian

Amslanic|

* American
* Black ASL
* Protactile
* BIM
* Bolivian
* Burmese
* Cambodian
* Costa Rican
* Dominican
* Greek
* Cypriot
* Jamaican
* Kuala Lumpur
* Panamanian
* Philippine
* Puerto Rican
* Quebec
* Singapore

| BISINDO|

* Jakarta
* Yogyakarta

|

Francophone African|

* Ethiopian
* Chadian
* Ghanaian
* Guinean
* LaSiMa
* Moroccan
* Nigerian
* Sierra Leonean

Austro-
Hungarian|

* Czech
* Hungarian
* ÖGS
* Slovak
* Ukrainian (УЖМ/USL)

| Russian|

* Bulgarian (БЖЕ)
* Georgian
* Latvian
* Mongolian
* Russian (РЖЯ)

|

Yugoslav|

* HZJ
* Kosovar
* Serbian
* Slovenian
* Yugoslav

Old Belgian|

* VGT
* LSFB

Danish|

* Malagasy
* Táknmál
* Tegnspråk
* Tegnsprog
* Teknmál

Dutch|

* NGT
* Gambian

Italian|

* LIS
* Tunisian

Mexican|

* LSM
* LESHO

Viet-Thai|

* Hai Phong
* Hanoi
* Ho Chi Minh
* Thai

Germanosign|

* DGS
* PJM
* Shassi

Indo-Pakistani
Sign|

* Bangalore-Madras
* Beluchistan
* Bengali
* Bombay
* Calcutta
* Delhi
* Nepali
* North West Frontier Province
* Punjab-Sindh

Kentish|

* Old Kentish

| Chilmark|

* Chilmark

* MVSL

Meemul Tziij|

* Highland Maya
* Nohya

Original Thai Sign|

* Chiangmai
* Hai Phong
* Old Bangkok

Paget Gorman|

* Namibian
* Diyari
* Jaralde
* Kalkutungu
* Pitha Pitha
* Warluwara

Paraguayan-
Uruguayan Sign|

* Paraguay
* Uruguay

Plains Sign Talk|

* Hand Talk
* Anishinaabe
* Apsáalooke
* Arikara
* Chaticks si Chaticks
* Cheyenne
* Coahuilteco
* Dane-zaa
* Diné
* Hinono'eino
* Hiraacá
* Icāk
* Karankawa
* Liksiyu
* Maagiadawa
* Meciciya ka pekiskwakehk
* Nakota
* Ni Mii Puu
* Niimíipuu
* Niitsítapi
* Nųmą́khų́·ki
* Nʉmʉnʉʉ
* Omaha
* Palus
* Piipaash
* Ppáⁿkka
* Schitsu'umsh
* Shiwinna
* Sioux
* Taos
* Tickanwa•tic
* Tháumgá
* Tsuu T'ina
* Umatilla
* Wazhazhe
* Wichita
* Wíyut'a / Wíblut'e
* Wyandot

| Plateau|

* A'aninin
* Kalispel
* ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam
* Nesilextcl'n
* Secwepemcékst
* Sqeliz

|

Providencia–
Cayman Sign|

* Provisle
* Old Cayman (Guyanese)

Japanese Sign|

* Japanese
* Korean
* Taiwanese

Chinese Sign|

* Chinese

| Shanghai|

* Shanghai

* Hong Kong
* Macau

Isolates|

* Afghan
* Al-Sayyid Bedouin
* Albanian
* Amami Oshima
* Armenian
* Armenian Women's
* Belizean
* Bhutanese
* Bökyi lagda
* Bribri
* Brunca
* Bura
* Chatino
* Cuban
* Diné Family
* Dogon
* Ecuadorian
* Eritrean
* Enga
* Ghandruk
* Ghardaia
* Guatemalan
* Guinea-Bissau
* Henniker
* Hoailona ʻŌlelo
* Inuit
* Atgangmuurniq
* Ussersuataarneq
* Jhankot
* Jumla
* Ka'apor
* Kajana
* Kafr Qasim
* Kata Kolok
* Kenyan
* Somali
* Keresign
* Kisindo
* Konchri Sain
* Lyons
* Macedonian
* Maltese
* Magannar Hannu
* Mardin
* Mauritian
* M'bour
* Miyakubo
* Mossi
* Mozambican
* Mumu kasa
* Nicaraguan
* Old Costa Rican
* Ottoman
* Pasa kidd
* Penang
* Persian
* Peruvian
* Rennellese
* Rwandan
* Sandy River
* Salvadoran
* Spanish
* Tebul
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turkish
* Ugandan
* Venezuelan
* West African
* Adasl
* Burasl
* Mofu-Gudur
* Nanabinsl
* Yoruban
* Zambian

Other groupings|

* Ethiopian languages
* Laotian languages
* Sri Lankan languages
* Sudanese languages
* Tanzanian languages (7+)[b]

* International Sign

By region[a]|

Sign languages by region

Oceania|

Australia
Auslan
Australian-Irish
Eltye eltyarrenke
Far North Queensland Indigenous
Iltyeme iltyeme
Rdaka rdaka
Manjiljarra
Warlmanpa
Warramunga
Mudburra
Ngada
Umpila
Western Desert
Western Torres Strait Islander
Yir Yoront
Yolŋu

Hawaii (USA)
Haoilona ʻŌlelo
Samoa and American Samoa
Samoan
New Zealand
NZSL

Asia|

Bengal
Bengali
Cambodia
Cambodian
China
Chinese
Hong Kong
HKSL
Indonesia
Indonesian
Kata Kolok (Benkala, Balinese)
India
Alipur
Bengali
Indo-Pakistani
Naga
Iran
Persian
Iraq
Iraqi
Kurdish
Israel
Al-Sayyid Bedouin
Ghardaia
Israeli
Kafr Qasem
Japan
Amami Oshima
Japanese
Miyakubo
Korea
Korean
Laos
Laotian
Malaysia
Malaysian
Penang
Selangor
Mongolia
Mongolian
Nepal
Ghandruk
Jhankot
Jumla
Nepalese
Philippines
Philippine
Saudi Arabia
Saudi
Singapore
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan
Taiwan
Taiwanese
Tajikistan
Russian
Tibet
Bökyi lagda
Thailand
Bangkok
Chiangmai
Thai
Ban Khor (Pasa kidd)
Vietnam
Vietnamese

Africa|

Algeria
Algerian
Ghardaia
Cameroon
Maroua
Ghana
Adamorobe
Nanabin
Ivory Coast
Bouakako (LaSiBo)
Kenya
Kenyan
Mali
Tebul
Bamako (LaSiMa)
Nigeria
Bura
Magannar Hannu
Senegal
Mbour
Somalia & Djibouti
Somali
South Africa
South African
Tanzania
Tanzanian
Uganda
Ugandan
Zambia
Zambian

North America|

Plains Sign Talk
Canada
American

Protactile
Blackfoot
Cree
Ojibwa
MSL
Quebec
Atgangmuurniq
Plateau
Greenland
Ussersuataarneq
Mexico
Chatino
Mayan
Mexican
United States
American

Black American
Protactile
Blackfeet
Cree
Cheyenne
Ojibwa
Keresign
Martha's Vineyard
Navajo
Navajo Family
Sandy River Valley
Henniker

Central and
South America

Argentina
Argentine
Belize
Belizean
Bolivia
Bolivian
Brazil
Libras
Ka'apor
Cayman
Old Cayman
Chile
Chilean
Colombia
Colombian
Provisle
Costa Rica
Bribri
Brunca
Old Costa Rican
New Costa Rican
Cuba
Cuban
Ecuador
Ecuadorian
Guatemalan
Guatemalan
Mayan
Haiti
Haitian
Honduras
Honduran
Nicaragua
Nicaraguan
Panama
Chiriqui
Panamanian
Paraguay
Paraguayan
Peru
Peruvian
Sivia
El Salvador
Salvadoran
Old Salvadoran
Uruguay
Uruguayan
Venezuela
Venezuelan

Europe|

Armenia
Armenian
Austria
Austrian
Belgium
Flemish
French Belgian
United Kingdom
British
Croatia
Croatian
Denmark
Danish
Teknmál
Netherlands
Dutch
Estonia
Estonian
Finland
Finnish
France
Ghardaia
French
Lyons
Germany
German
Greece
Greek
Hungary
Hungarian
Iceland
Icelandic
Ireland
Irish
Italy
Italian
Kosovo
Kosovar
Lithuania
Lithuanian
Moldova
Russian
North Macedonia
Macedonian
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Norway
Norwegian
Poland
Polish
Portugal
Portuguese
Russia
Russian
Slovenia
Slovenian
Spain
Catalan
Spanish
Valencian
Sweden
Swedish
Switzerland
Swiss
Turkey
Central Taurus
Mardin
Turkish
Ukraine
Ukrainian

International|

* International Sign
* Makaton
* Monastic
* Signalong

ASL|

* Grammar
* Idioms
* Literature
* Profanity
* Name signs

Extinct
languages|

* Chilmark
* Diyari
* Jaralde
* Kalkutungu
* Henniker Sign Language
* Martha's Vineyard
* Old French
* Old Kent
* Plateau Sign Language
* Pitha Pitha
* Sandy River Valley Sign Language
* Warluwara

Linguistics|

* Grammar (ASL)
* Bimodal bilingualism
* Cherology
* Handshape / Location / Orientation / Movement / Expression
* Mouthing
* Sign names

Fingerspelling|

* American
* British (two-handed)
* Catalan
* Chilean
* French
* Hungarian
* Irish
* Japanese
* Korean
* Polish
* Russian
* Serbo-Croatian
* Spanish
* Ukrainian

Writing|

* ASL-phabet
* Hamburg Notation System

| Stokoe notation|

* Stokoe notation

| SignWriting|

* SignWriting

| si5s|

* si5s
* ASLwrite ()

|

Language
contact|

* Contact sign
* Indian Signing System
* Initialized sign
* Manually coded English
* Manually coded language in South Africa
* Manually Coded Malay
* Mouthing
* Paget Gorman Sign System
* Signed Dutch
* Signed French
* Signed German
* Signed Italian
* Signed Japanese
* Signed Polish
* Signed Spanish
* Signing Exact English
* Tecknad svenska

* Bilingual–bicultural education
* Manually coded language

Media|

* Films (list)
* Television programmes (list)

Persons|

* Jabbar Baghtcheban
* Johanna Berglind
* Pär Aron Borg
* Thomas Braidwood
* Laurent Clerc
* Abbé de l'Épée
* Roger Fouts
* Valerie Sutton
* Thomas Gallaudet
* Abbe Sicard
* William Stokoe
* Pierre Pélissier

Organisations|

* Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada
* International Center on Deafness and the Arts
* Mimics and Gesture Theatre
* World Association of Sign Language Interpreters

Miscellaneous|

* Baby sign language
* CHCI chimpanzee center (Washoe, Loulis)
* Open Outcry
* Legal recognition
* Military hand and arm signals
* Monastic sign languages
* Tactile signing
* Tic-tac (betting)

^a Sign-language names reflect the region of origin. Natural sign languages are not related to the spoken language used in the same region. For example, French Sign Language originated in France, but is not related to French. Conversely, ASL and BSL both originated in English-speaking countries but are not related to each other; ASL however is related to French Sign Language. ^b Denotes the number (if known) of languages within the family. No further information is given on these languages.

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