Product Description

A complete pocket dictionary of American Sign Language

Over 4,500 fully illustrated, up-to-date signs

From basic hand shapes to fully illustrated and described signs, Random House Webster’s Concise American Sign Language Dictionary offers a comprehensive and up-to-date treasury of signs. Whether you are a novice seeking “survival signs” for basic communication or an experienced user fluent in ASL and looking to enlarge your vocabulary, you cannot find a more complete, easy-to-use sign language dictionary.

This authoritative reference includes:

• Over 4,500 signs — more than other ASL pocket dictionaries
• Detailed full-torso illustrations
• Precise, easy-to-follow instructions for performing each sign
• Signs for new and technical terms
• Hints for remembering signs
• And much more

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96639 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-02
• Released on: 2002-01-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 528 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553584745
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
?Dr. Costello?s work establishes ASL as a major force in the future of communications for both the deaf and the hearing.?
? Richard Dysart, trustee, Gallaudet University

?This scrupulously researched book solidifies the position of American Sign Language as a rich, vibrant, living language. It is a welcome addition to the shelf of anyone interested in the wonders of ASL.?
? Lou Ann Walker, author of A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family


Other important signing books by Elaine Costello:

Signing: How to Speak With Your Hands

Religious Signing: A Comprehensive Guide for All Faiths
-- Review

Review
“Dr. Costello’s work establishes ASL as a major force in the future of communications for both the deaf and the hearing.”
— Richard Dysart, trustee, Gallaudet University

“This scrupulously researched book solidifies the position of American Sign Language as a rich, vibrant, living language. It is a welcome addition to the shelf of anyone interested in the wonders of ASL.”
— Lou Ann Walker, author of A Loss for Words: The Story of Deafness in a Family


Other important signing books by Elaine Costello:

Signing: How to Speak With Your Hands

Religious Signing: A Comprehensive Guide for All Faiths

Language Notes
Text: English

Customer Reviews

The best ASL dictionary
This dictionary was recommended to me by my sign instructor. The signs are clearly illustrated and the definitions are in great details in this dictionary. I think this dictionary is right for all levels of sign students.

Useful, but not as perfect as I'd hoped.
For some time, we've had some flash cards and a small book containing signs to teach our son, who is nearly 1 1/2. I found the little book and cards to be frustrating for multiple reasons. The flash cards get out of alphabetical order easily, so it's hard to look something up; and there are only about 50-60 signs featured in each set. Words that my son would really like to be able to express, like "light" and "fan" and "otter" and "frog," are missing. Additionally, some of the words from the book and flash cards overlap, but the two formats disagree about what the signs are!
So, based on the reviews and on the number of signs included, I couldn't wait to get the Random House Webster's Concise American Sign Language Dictionary. The book does have a lot going for it. If you know the alphabet in sign language (and it's included in the book, in case you don't), the descriptions of signs really help clarify the illustrations. As soon as we got the book, I looked up "light" and "frog," and I was delighted to be able to sign them to my son. Catching my excitement, he signed "light" back right away. But "otter" was missing from the dictionary. "Well," I thought, "maybe there is no sign for 'otter.'" No huge loss, since my son does an endearing otter impression anyway.
But then I discovered that "fan" has also been left out of the dictionary. "Fan" is a pretty basic and common word, so I assume that there is a specific sign for it.
Examples of words that ARE included: ascend, delegate, optimistic, sightseeing, humid, dominoes, rehabilitation, sterilization, robot, sacrifice, slavery, porpoise, hawk, pimples, zap, worship, prostitute, puzzle, diamond, lesbian, loiter, merchandise.
Examples of words that AREN'T included: otter, squash, fan, beaver, whale, moose, ceiling, kaleidoscope, owl, crow, robin, quail, raven, tiger, zebra, wolf, coyote, tractor, mow, guava, tortilla, quesadilla, spinach, wheel, cactus, cardinal.
Being able to say words like "rehabilitation" is definitely useful; it would take a long time to spell them out. But I think I probably talk about fans more often than I talk about robots. This is a self-proclaimed concise dictionary, and there is a note at the beginning of the book about which words were included and which words weren't (and why), but that still doesn't help me sign "squash" or "moose."
I don't know that anyone cares, but the copy of this book that we received does have a slightly different cover than the one pictured. The picture shows hands in a single sign, whereas our book features five full-color photos of a woman signing. I actually like the one we got better than the one pictured.
Oh, and previous reviews indicate that the alphabet and numbers are listed in the back of the book. Numbers are still at the back of the book, but each letter of the alphabet now appears at the start of the section of words beginning with that letter.
Overall, I was torn between giving the book three stars and four. I really like the descriptions of how to do signs, but that only helps when the word I want to sign is in the dictionary.

GREAT bargain! Very thorough!
This is a GREAT value. Very in depth and very thorough. This book covers it all, it even has the fingerspell alphabet and numbers in the back of the book. As far as a sign language dictionary this is the very best one I found, and I looked at several. Not small enough to carry around in your pocket but I don't think anything with this much information could be that small.