Can You Make Up a Sign? Here’s When It’s Okay

Vlog | Destiny Yarbro | October 21, 2025 | 12 min watch

Video Transcript

Hello everyone! Some of you may have wondered, is it okay if I just make up a sign in ASL? No, it is not okay. There is a prison where they put hearing people who make up signs, and it's closely guarded by deaf policemen. Just kidding. No, you can make up signs in specific limited situations. So, in this video, I'm going to show you when it's okay to make up a sign and when it's not okay. 

0:28 When It's Okay to Make Up Signs

When I travel, I never fingerspell. They don't know English and I don't know their written language. So, what's the point? We instead use gestures and fingerspelling is just tossed out. Deaf people didn't make up fingerspelling. (I think it's important to recognize that.) Hearing people made up fingerspelling for specifically Deaf education to help Deaf kids learn how to read, write, and speak English. 

00:50 — What If We Didn't Have Fingerspelling?

0:36 Placeholders 

One way that making up a sign has the full approval of the deaf community is placeholders. So, you may find yourself in a conversation or you're interpreting for a thing in the future where the entire situation is full of just these massive words and you find yourself having to fingerspell these terms over and over. But instead, you can replace them with a temporary sign, a concise sign instead of fingerspelling. And you can set up what's called a placeholder. And typically that sign is set up only for that lecture or only for that conversation. It's not like it becomes this new sign that'll be used forever more. Sometimes names can be super long, for example. So if you're interpreting a lecture about Dr. Sarah Wendham, for example, that could be a long name to fingerspell each time and it would feel super strange to refer to her as Sarah because she's a doctor and it's a formal presentation, right? So, you could just make up a sign name for her like this SW at the chest to use for that lecture SW. Now, understand, would you make up that sign by yourself? Typically, no. Typically, you would brainstorm the name sign with your team interpreter and the two of you try to come up with a new name that makes sense for you both. But the best way is to ask your deaf client and the three of you make up a sign that matches the concept and what makes sense to the deaf client. But again, does that sign become an official sign for Dr. Sarah Windham forever? No. It typically ends at the end of that interpreting assignment. So that's an example of when it's totally fine to make up a sign. official name signs. 

2:13 Name Signs 

So, name signs or sign names. The deaf community accepts making up signs for sign names, but keep in mind that there are super strict rules when it comes to sign names. They're more flexible now, but they're still strict. So, first, most importantly, a deaf person gives someone a sign name most of the time. Second, there are rules as to where on the face and body a name sign can be placed. And third, some signs are just not appropriate to become name signs. Not just any sign will do. And I'll explain this more in a future video, but coming up with a new sign name typically happens when a new baby is born or say if like a book becomes popular or a movie becomes popular, something goes viral, the community kind of together creates sign names for the characters and try to match that character's name with their personality. 

3:14 Game Show 

Who's ready for a game show? I'm going to give you four sign names and you're going to guess which book or movie character it is. Ready? First character name sign. [Music] Second character name sign. Third character name sign goes like this. And the fourth character name sign. So let's go through each of these. First, this is Leia's sign name. Like her circular hair buns on either side of her head. It's obvious, right? Second is clearly the sign name of Harry Potter with his scar on his head. Third, this name sign shows the character's ears, another uh Star Wars character, Yoda. Fourth, the name sign is for Ron, as in Harry Potter's best friend, which is also the ASL sign for best bud. 

4:06 Language Play 

Another time it's okay to make up a sign is language play, specifically with kids. So, do you know Dr. Seuss and how he would play with the English language. He would play and make up fun words. Why? Because children love that. Well, I've seen deaf parents do the same exact thing for their kids. They create fun, playful signs that match their kids age, their development, and they include them in stories and just have fun playing with the language. So that is another example of when it's totally fine to make up a sign. 

4:59 ABC / Number Stories 

So stories, specifically ABC and number stories, a cultural thing, deaf poetry and deaf dance as and expressive art. So first, the deaf community cherishes their ABC stories. If you go to a deaf conference or a deaf event, chances are you will see someone performing an ABC story. Now, these stories typically have strict limits on how you make up a sign. So, they don't just make up signs willy-nilly. For example, an ABC story about coffee could go like this. So, I'm using an A hand shape to show someone drinking, and then B hand shapes to show the coffee being ingested. Then C hand shapes to show the eyes pop when the caffeine hits. And that's just an example I came off the top of my head, but the deaf community treasures ABC stories because it's when they can be creative and just play with their language. 

5:37 Deaf Poetry 

Second is deaf poetry and that's my personal favorite. You should watch deaf poetry on YouTube because there are so many great artists online that create these beautiful works of arts truly from the heart and it's beautiful the diversity because the poets come from a variety of backgrounds. So their poems show their perspectives and they convey their thoughts and opinions in such a beautiful way. 

6:00 Dance and Artistic Expression 

Third is deaf expression in dance. I remember one time seeing a deaf ballet in sign language and it was just gorgeous how they expressed themselves because they incorporated signs into their dance moves. It's just super cool. 

6:17 Making Up Signs While Traveling 

It's funny, but when I travel, I always randomly meet deaf people. I'll go into a restaurant and spot a deaf person, or I'll go into a store and catch sight of a deaf person, or if I'm walking out in the park, I'll randomly see a deaf person. And it just happens all the time and it's kind of a joke in my family, but many of y'all don't know this, but if I were to walk up to that person and just start signing ASL, they probably wouldn't understand me. And I recently posted a video about why I click the card in the top right to watch it. So, what happens? How do I communicate with them? So, when we meet, we immediately switch into gesturing or making up signs to try and convey concepts.

So, instead of ASL for black, I'll show my shirt color. Or instead of sun, I'll point to the orb in the sky. and use VGC to so show the sun setting for the day. So I might sign you, me, let's go on over and eat when the sun is straight up. So in essence, the two of us will meet at noon for lunch and we'll take turns creating these signs and that makes sense to both of us to kind of form this new language. It's like a pigeon language of sorts for that conversation. So yes, I make up signs all the time when I'm traveling.

7:27 When It's Not Okay

So, up to this point, I've shown you when it's okay to make up signs with limits. Now, let's you and I discuss when it's not okay and when it's legal and the deaf place will come get you. Let's say you learn a new ASL sign and you just don't like it or you don't understand it or it's really hard for you to sign. Is that a good time for you to make up your own sign? Uh, probably not. ASL is not a broken language, right? It's not lacking. It's a full language. It's a beautiful, complete language that truly can express anything. So, when you say, "Uh, I just don't like that sign. I'll use my own sign instead." You're showing the deaf community that you look down on their language. 

8:32 Other Countries Signing "Run" vs. ASL 

Now, I do have to be honest because many of you may have seen the video I made that went viral a few years ago where I show what other countries signs are for run or the verb running. [Music] So, that video obviously was a joke. I just think it's funny that all the world's signs are so similar until you get to ASL and running. Like, why this? like you're hobbling along. Anyway, the viewers knew I was just joking because it's obvious from my videos how much I cherish all sign languages. 

9:25 What If You Don't Like a Sign? 

But for ASL students to say, I I just don't like that sign. I'll make up my own. That's just not okay at all. If you really don't like a sign, or more so if you're struggling to sign it, that's fine. if you use another ASL sign in its place. So, let's So, just learn a different sign for it. Each English word has many English equivalents. So, you can just swap it out. That's fine. Just don't make up your own because you think it's better than the actual sign.

If you really don’t like a sign, or more so if you’re struggling to sign it, that’s fine. You can use another ASL sign in its place. So, just learn a different sign for it. Each English word has many English equivalents. You can just swap it out. That’s fine. Just don’t make up your own because you think it’s better than the actual sign.

9:55 "Baby Sign"

Baby sign made by people outside the community. I remember about 20 years ago when I saw for my first time a baby babbling in sign language with its de parents just babbling away and I was stunned because it was absolutely adorable just so so cute as it tried to copy its parents signing. Now, that was cute. But when hearing adults from outside the community made up baby signs to market everywhere, that wasn't so cute, but that's just my opinion. 

10:34 Why I Encourage ASL Students to "Make Up" Signs

So, it might surprise you, but I encourage ASL students to make up signs. Now, no, now wait, before you get angry or ticked off at me, let me explain. I'll make a video more in depth about this in the future, but suffice it to say for now, ASL students really, really struggle to disconnect from English when they're signing. Often they think, "What's the sign for that English word?" And when they really need to set aside that way of thinking and gesture or make up a sign to disconnect from English.

Now, please understand, am I encouraging them to film themselves and teach their new sign online and make it go viral? No. I'm encouraging them to come up with or gesture a sign in the classroom or in one-on-one conversations when they don't know a sign or don't understand what someone's signing so as to not be overly reliant on fingerspelling. They can gesture. So, I'm encouraging them to think visually and not think word for English word. I'll make a video about this topic, this slightly sticky topic soon.

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