The American Sign Language Phrase Book

I like this book a lot. It is very easy to understand, and very helpful. I bought it because I have friends and family that are hearing impaired and I wanted to learn more sign language to better communicate with them.Sign language has been an interest of mine since I was a little girl. This book shows phrases as known to the hearing impaired, it goes word by word and explains why the words are signed in the way that it is. It also explains about body language and facial expressions. This was a very good buy, it arrived on time.It does have an index in the front, to show what category a word is in, and also a manual index to look for a specific word.The alphabet is located in the very back of the book and tells you how to hold your arm. The book also gives arrows to indicate which way to move your hand and it also gives directions in numerical order in certain words. Meaning it shows how to use your hand or fingers in a certain order for various, but not all, words.It's a very easy book to follow and understand. Very good phrase book, very well thought out and put together. Highly recommended.

This book is organized well, but the illustrations make it difficult to see and understand the transitions. I’m fairly new to ASL and I’ve already successfully used another written too in Amazon to learn. I wanted to advance to phrases. But the illustrations are so unclear and confusing.

I AM A HEARING PERSON, BUT I HAVE BEEN FASCINATED WITH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE FOR AT LEAST 20 YEARS. I HAVE SEVERAL BOOKS AND A HUGE DICTIONARY OF SIGNS. I HAVE ATTENDED SEVERAL COURSES IN SIGN, ONE TAUGHT AT THE RIVERSIDE CITY COLLEGE, CALIFORNIA. IT WAS TAUGHT BY A DEAF INSTRUCTOR, AND TAUGHT IN SIGN LANGUAGE. OH, ABOUT THE BOOK -- I LOVE IT. IT IS THE BEST ONE I HAVE NOW. IT IS PERFECT FOR ANYONE WHO IS LEARNING SIGN OR WHO IS ALREADY INTO SIGN. IT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND IS PRESENTED IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. THAT IS, IT GETS YOU RIGHT INTO USING IT, WITH MOST USEFUL SIGNS FIRST. YOU WILL LOVE IT TOO.

I have "ASL the easy way" American Sign Language The Easy Way  and I really like it but the grammar instructions could be a bit complicated for the average person. I also have "ABC's of sign" A Basic Course in American Sign Language - expensive - not worth the money if you ask me. Kinda hard to follow. No flow to the book(my opinion). Also think a number of the signs are kinda out of date. This book by the Fants is awesome. Very simple practical explainations of how the grammar of asl works along with some good insights into Deaf culture. Contains new technology signs. MOST important by far though are the illustrations. They show the correct facial expressions for each sentence which is a BIG plus. While some other books have detailed drawings that should show expression clearly sometimes it's muddled in the artwork. However, the simple cartoon-type drawings in this book capture the feeling and expressions needed to truly converse in ASL. I am super impressed with the artists ability to show so much with simple lines. Also very well written. My new favorite ASL book.

I bought this book to use for an ASL class. A lot of the images were confusing or we just didn't use. Kinda pointless to buy TBH. YouTube is a better teacher.

☆☆☆☆☆ Five stars! This is a really awesome reference book. It explains all of the arrows and movements that you make with a sign, so you know which direction to go, or if you wiggle your fingers, or shake your wrist. There are a lot of useful vocabulary words, and also phrases. The chapters are seperated into different categories. And even though the illustrations aren't fancy, (I dunno what's going on with this guys hair and ears) they definitely do the trick. I would recommend buying this book if you are a beginner, or have been signing awhile. It's a really good investment.

I would strongly recommend that this be the first book used for ASL study, due to the emphasis on phrases over individual words, and the highly effective section on correct grammar for ASL -- so often "signing" is presented from an English-speaking perspective, rather than with the full linguistic impact of American Sign Language. The illustrations are good overall, but I do look up some online for video reference. Great book!

I returned it because it was not what was listed. If you don’t know much about ASL to begin with the book is confusing. When you’re talking with your hands, everything matters. The book is suited for more than a beginner. There’s no guarantee you are getting the movement right and the last thing I want to do is look like one of the fake signers on TV.

Love it! Fantastic book to say the least. Really user friendly. My 5 year old Granddaughter understands it in fact. Thoroughly explained art work showing movement, direction, where the hands start and again where they should finish! Worth ever penny.

A gift for my grand daughter who was over the moon. She's considering a teaching carreer for the hearing impaired.

Awesome for help in learning to communicate in ASL.This phrase book is a bonus and helping me to learn ASL.

A big help as she is teaching herself sign-language. Working with deaf children in her child-care centre has been a boost for learning more about how to communicate with the deaf.

This book was very helpful for leaving ASL grammar. I wish it was longer!