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Gestuno Principles
We will now consider some principles that should be used when communicating in International Gesture (Gestuno or IG). Remember that IG is not a language but a negotiated communication system so one needs to be flexible. Languages reflect culture, so signs/gestures should be picked that are as cross-cultural as possible. This is a gesturer sign for "Abraham Lincoln": Left hand [A], PO (palm orientation) down, FO (finger orientation) away, right hand [L], PO down, FO away, like the Lincoln Memorial statue + (2h)[C] showing stovepipe hat. If an international person would recognize anything about Lincoln, it would probably be the Lincoln Memorial and pictures of him with a stovepipe hat. This brings up the point that if a person had never seen a picture of Lincoln and did not know who he was, no amount of gesture will bring across that concept. Feedback is of course important in any communication, so you will want to keep an eye on your audience for comprehension or a lack thereof. With IG, it is even more likely that some people will understand while others won't.One continuous thread of ideas is better than a lot of repetition, but the gesturer will need to decide when clarification needs to be given. Signs often use metonymy, which means a sign language will select a part of an object to depict in the sign. For a gesture, you may need to show many parts of an object, such as showing the surgical table, the pedestal, the patient, the doctor, and the action to convey "surgery". On the other hand, if only a part of an object is being spoken of, you may need to describe the entire context of the object as we have just described and then end by indexing which part of the whole you are referring to, such as "the surgical patient". Remember to show the three-dimensionality of an object, such as showing the height, width, and depth of a television set rather than showing it as a flat screen. Don't repeat what you've already done or add too much information if you have already conveyed the idea as shown by the back-channel feedback. Don't be shy; act it out. Show the steps of a process, such as opening all four legs of a card table.
Signs may generalize a thing, such as a box; show the specific size of the object being referred to. You may need to back up out of your signing space to show perspective or to expand the space you are working with. Finger spelling is permissible. A one-handed alphabet is used, similar to that used in ASL, but the "T" is modified, since it is an obscene gesture in some cultures. The "T" may either look like an ASL "F" but with the thumb crossed on the thumb side of the or with thumb and index finger crossed as just described, but with the other fingers folded into the palm. The "M" and "N" are also held with the relevant fingers held out straight and the hand nodded down to make it absolutely clear how many fingers are being held out. Since the audience may have a totally different alphabet, make sure to fingerspell slowly and sparingly. If you know the audience's alphabet (and there is only one used by all of them) you could use their finger spelling instead. If you are having a conversation with a person, things will go most smoothly if you use the alphabet of the person you are speaking with and the person uses your alphabet.
Numbers vary vastly across sign languages. IG uses numbers as follows. All numbers are PO away, FO up. A "zero" is sometimes represented by an "O" and sometimes by an "F", because of the round shape of the joined thumb and index finger. "1 - 5" is shown by holding up the index finger, then adding the middle finger, the thumb (some people will show an ASL "W", holding the little finger against the thumb), switching to the four fingers and tucking in thumb, and finally showing all five fingers. "6 - 10" are shown by add fingers on the NDH with the addition of a FIVE on the DH. If a number is larger that 10, it is shown digit by digit, so that "548" become FIVE FOUR EIGHT. Numbers are shown from the signer's right to the signer's left (regardless of handedness) to make it easier for the audience to read. If the number has more than three digits, a comma may be added to show the thousands place. "12,832" would become ONE TWO COMMA EIGHT THREE TWO. Since dates do not show a comma, the year "1462" would be ONE FOUR SIX TWO without a comma. I have seen a 1-CL and (2h)4-CL used to show the movement or placement of a person or people, but the use of other classifiers must be carefully considered, since different sign languages use different hand shapes for the same concept.
IG uses each country's indigenous sign for itself: the Norwegian sign for "Norway", the Polish sign for "Poland", and so on. See the resources at the end of these principles for the site for indigenous signs for countries. Before the sign is given, if there is a likelihood that the audience will not recognize what country is being referred to, or if a specific city, state, county, or province is being referred to, the place is indexed on a classifier that represents that region.
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