1. The document discusses explaining cultural rules and customs in American Sign Language. 2. It provides instructions for explaining rules and customs, including describing a situation, explaining the appropriate or inappropriate behavior, and contrasting with another culture. 3. Examples are given for explaining rules around public displays of affection, respect for elders, and interpreting burping in different cultures.

1. EXPLAINING RULES -
Cultural Rules and
Customs
Unit 20
ASL III

2. In our daily lives, we often find
reason to discuss rules. They can be
rules we live by such as driving
rules, societal rules, cultural rules
or school rules; or they can be the
rules we play by such as rules for
party games, card games, or
children’s games.
Explaining Rules

3. In this unit, you will learn to give clear
instruction or explanations using
classifiers and conditional sentences,
rhetorical questions, and relative clauses.
You will learn rule-related vocabulary
needed to achieve this goal. You will
develop strategies for explaining rules
while playing a game and learn to use
attention-getting behaviors to manage a
group during a game.
Explaining Rules

4. Cultural Rules and
Customs
1. Describe situation (use a
conditional clause to set up a
hypothetical situation)
2. Explain rule or custom/behavior
that is appropriate or
inappropriate.
3. Contrast with another
culture’s views.

5. Cultural Rules and
Customs
appropriate, acceptable inappropriate, unacceptable
Use these signs to describe appropriate/inappropriate
behavior.

6. Rule 9 - Public Display of
Affection
Stefanie compares the
appropriateness of holding
hands as a public display of
affection in the United
States and in Japan.
Gloss: HERE AMERICA, MAN,
WOMAN OUTSIDE WALK,
BCL “hold hands” FINE++.
IX-loc “there” JAPAN BCL
“hold hands” “wave-no”
!WRONG!
Rules 9-11 show the signer
explaining the appropriateness
of certain behaviors in one
culture and then contrasting
them with how they are viewed
by another culture. Notice the
signs used to discuss behavior.

7. Rule 10 - Showing Respect
to Elders
John compares the
appropriateness of children
making eye contact with
elders as a show of respect
in China and in the United
States.
Gloss: IX-loc “there” CHINA
PEOPLE OUT++ TALK CHILDREN
SCL “eye contact” NOT FINE,
MUST SCL “look down”
RESPECT.
HERE AMERICA, NOT-MATTER,
SCL “eye contact” OKAY.
Rules 9-11 show the signer
explaining the appropriateness
of certain behaviors in one
culture and then contrasting
them with how they are viewed
by another culture. Notice the
signs used to discuss behavior.

8. Rule 11 - Interpretation of
Burping
Stefanie discusses how
people in Arab countries and
in the United States
interpret burping at the end
of a meal.
Gloss: IX-loc “there” fs-
ARAB COUNTRY, EAT
FINISH, ECL “burp” SHOULD
MEAN FOOD !DELICIOUS!
HERE AMERICA, EAT FINISH,
ECL “burp” “wave-no”
NOT+POLITE.
Rules 9-11 show the signer
explaining the appropriateness
of certain behaviors in one
culture and then contrasting
them with how they are viewed
by another culture. Notice the
signs used to discuss behavior.

9. In the next two examples, the signer explains how people in two
different cultures say good-bye and schedule workdays. The “TENDS-
TO” sign is used to denote behavior that is typical or common.
Note: This sign can be one-handed or two-handed.
Cultural Customs

10. Custom 1 - Typical
Workday
Signers use contrastive
structure to establish two
groups when comparing two
cultures, one “here” and the
other “there.” Signers
reference the group by
referring to the space
designated to discuss
appropriate behavior for
that group. These two signs
are used to designate the
space. If you review earlier
segments, you will see
signers using the same signs
to reference the two groups.
Stefanie explains how
people in the United States
and in Spain have different
ways of scheduling a typical
workday.

11. Custom 2 - Saying Good-
byes
John uses a different
contrast strategy to discuss
two groups of people in the
same country. To contrast
the two groups of people in
the United States, John uses
space to the left and right of
him to represent Deaf and
hearing people. Then he
references these spaces to
contrast how each group
says good-byes. John uses
the “DURING/WHILE” sign
as a transition to describing
how that behavior manifests
itself in the second group.
John compares the ways
Deaf people and hearing
people say their good-byes.

12. Review
Throughout this presentation, you have learned the
following:
□ Cultural Rules and Customs (basic sequence):
1. Describe situation (use a conditional clause to
set up a hypothetical situation).
2. Explain rule or custom/behavior that is
appropriate or inappropriate.
3. Contrast with another culture’s views.
□ Appropriate and Inappropriate Behavior Signs
□ Explaining Cultural Customs using contrastive structure